


Shibuya's Dog

by BoBoK



Series: The Merc: [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-04-23 04:15:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19143376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoBoK/pseuds/BoBoK
Summary: Eight years have passed since Ren turned himself in. After that, no one knows where he went.He left behind his friends, his team, his confidants, all to protect them from prosecution.But he makes a rather unexpected return.





	1. They... Hired you?

_“One-Thirty-Six on hand in Mitsubishi UFJ. We need every officer in the vicinity to be there now.” ___

____

____

Makoto huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Curses…” She immediately took off, standing up from the booth she was sitting at, leaving the money for her coffee on the table as she bolted out of the door, running for the white and blue motorcycle. She slung on a full-faced helmet, pulling the black and blue visor down over her eyes as she slammed the keys into their respective hole, revving the engine and barreling towards the bank. 

As soon as she arrived, she pulled off across the street, swinging her leg off of one side of the bike, standing up as she unbuckled the helmet. Cruisers were already set around the entrance to the bank, blocking all escapes while providing cover for the officers who stood outside.

“Lieutenant Niijima!” Called out a man’s voice.

She turned her head to see a blonde man running towards her. “Officer Sakamoto.” She said with a curt nod of her head. “What’s our situation?” 

“Four hostages, ten men on the inside, each man armed to the teeth. I mean- we’re talking FAMAS’s, HK416’s, M1-”

“Ryuji, settle down. It doesn’t matter what firepower they’ve got as long as we have a plan of infiltration. How have the plans developed thus far?” She asked, walking alongside him as they joined a few other officers behind a cruiser.

“We’ve got… uh… absolutely nothing!”

“Damnit!” She groaned out, pounding a fist against the hood of the car. “How many entrances are there?” 

“About three: The garage, the front doors, and the back entrance… All are secured tight.” He responded, looking down at his clipboard, which happened to be a diagram and layout of the bank.

“The criminals used the sewer system to get into the basement, correct?”

Ryuji nodded.

“Then, we follow them.”

“T-That’s insane!” He cried out.

“No, it isn’t. The last thing they’d expect is the police to go through the same entrance they took. We’ll set up a decoy squadron the blow down the front door, requiring the men to divide and take each entrance separately. That means there will be at most approximately one man downstairs, however, most likely none at all.”

“How do you know that, Makoto!?” Ryuji asked, “I mean, we’re risking officer’s lives here! Along with innocent civilians.”

“We’ve worked with a criminal before, Ryuji.” She said, a small grimace on her face as she took towards the main unit of officers and SWAT members. 

“I mean, yeah, but that was almost eight years ago!” He said, following after her.

“It matters not. He was still the sneakiest and best damn criminal in the world. He wasn't the leader for nothing.” She snapped back, joining the group of men, beginning to explain her plan. 

“It’s absolutely preposterous what you’re suggesting, ma’am!” One of the men said.

“It isn’t. I know how these criminals work and how they operate. I’ve dealt with hostage situations and this one will be no different.” She growled, looking up at the helicopter that hovered above the bank, shining a spotlight on the roof. 

“I’ll lead a small team of two officers through the sewers, focus two main forces to the main entrance and the back entrance, create a diversion and make them think you are breaching and clearing… Try and collect as much heat as possible as we go in from below.” 

The men nodded at her orders, all walking off and shouting out the orders.

“Sakamoto and Sugimoto, you two are with me!” She barked out, bringing the two to a manhole cover that was just beside the main entrance. She bent down, grabbing one edge of it. She gestured with her head as Ryuji grabbed the other side. “Lift!” She grunted out, picking it up and rolling it aside, a ladder already heading down towards the brick floor. 

She heard distant yellings and bangs, the operation had begun. “Let’s not waste any more time.” She said, sliding down the ladder, the two men following shortly after her. She drew her pistol from her hip, keeping her posture low and stealthy, just as she did back then in the palaces. 

“God, the smell is absolutely raunch down here!” Ryuji coughed out, covering his nose with the sleeve of his uniform, his other hand drawing the pistol. 

“Oh shut up, Sakamoto,” Sugimoto said from behind, snickering quietly afterward. 

“Both of you shut the hell up.” She whispered harshly, turning her head to the side as she came across an opening in the brick wall. “We’re here. Remember, shoot to incapacitate, don’t try to kill unless necessary.” 

“Yeah, yeah… We got it.” Ryuji said, rolling his eyes as he loaded a magazine into his pistol. 

“Good. Let’s move, strictly hand signals from here on out. No speaking.” Makoto ordered as she pointed with an open hand to the opening, leading the back as they crept silently into a dark server room, the giant boxes of electronics glowing with different colors for the mass amount of buttons. 

As they continued to creep through the building, Makoto could hear through the comms in her earpiece as the two other units spoke. 

“Front entrance clear, how copy?” 

“Back entrance clear, copy.” 

“Ten-four.”

Makoto’s thoughts began to think of the next course of action. _‘Why the hell aren’t there any guards in the front or back? Not even in the basement either… Something is wrong.’_

She kept her teeth clenched as her pace picked up. She quickly rushed up to the second floor, heading towards the executive office where the hostages were supposed to be located. As they crept past a waiting room, they finally came to the executive’s room, they were separated by a double door which was shut. She pressed her back against the wall, the two men taking cover against the wall on the opposite side of the doorway. 

Makoto looked at Ryuji and nodded.

Ryuji took a step back from the wall and stood in front of the door. He let out a loud grunt as he kicked perfectly in between the two door handles, the door bursting open as Makoto was the first to rush in, weapon drawn.

However, she froze as she saw a man standing in a black suit jacket, a black collared shirt, red tie, and black slacks. She thought she recognized him due to the red gloves, but it couldn't be him. It couldn't be.

He had heard the door get kicked in but simply didn’t bother, turning to face the three officers as he adjusted his tie and buttoned the two middle buttons of his jacket. 

“For real? Is that fuckin' Agent 47?” Ryuji muttered under his breath. 

Makoto sighed in frustration and holstered her pistol, taking a look around the room to see ten masked men, all unconscious on the floor, and more importantly, four hostages all recovering from their recently achieved safety and freedom. She returned her angry glare back to the man who stood there, his hands tucked into his pockets, a smirk on his face, the pitch black sunglasses hiding his eyes as he stood there, simply staring at her.

“Who the hell is that?” Sugimoto asked, keeping his gun drawn to the man.

The man finally spoke up, “You even brought special forces with you, _Lieutenant Niijima? _” He said with a chuckle. “I thought you only partnered up with Sakamoto.”__

____

____

“Quit the shit.” She snarled out, approaching the condescending man who stood before her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Sheesh, Makoto, no need to get so hostile.” He said, snickering as he took a step back, pulling his hands out of his pockets and clutching onto the desk as he leaned back against it. “And I’m surprised they kept you in the dark. I bet you guys were having so much fun playing the _‘Infiltration team.’_ ” He said with a small laugh.

“Who are they?! As far as I know, you’re under arrest for vigilantism.” 

The man smirked again and half-assedly put his hands in the air. “Guilty as charged.” 

Makoto approached him, standing in front of him now. She reached behind her and pulled out a pair of handcuffs from her belt. 

He knew the drill, he rolled his eyes underneath the sunglasses and turned around, allowing Makoto to forcefully grab his wrists and shove them behind his back, locking the cuffs around his wrists.

“Mind the suit, will you?” He said, cracking a grin as he did so. 

Sugimoto couldn’t help but suppress a quiet chuckle. “Heh… Funny guy.”

Ryuji shot the Sugimoto a stare but quickly returned it back to the man. “What’s your name?” He asked, holstering his pistol, Sugimoto following shortly after.

“You’ll learn soon enough, friend.” He retorted, being turned around as he was pushed by Makoto out of the doorway. “Are you going to call it in, how you saved these hostages, _Lieutenant?_ ”

“Cut your condescending tone and I won’t pistol whip you in the back of the head.” She warned, reaching for her radio on her chest, pushing a button and speaking into it. 

“The inside is clear, all ten suspects are incapacitated and hostages are safe. Prepare for extraction. However, We have one suspected of vigilantism.” Then she released the button and walked Ren down the stairs to the main floor, walking past a group of police officers who were rushing up the stairs to contain the criminals and recover the hostages. “Sakamoto, Sugimoto… You’re both dismissed.” 

Both men looked at each other and shrugged, walking off their separate ways. 

She continued to urge him along towards the front door, walking past a few police officers. The two soon finally made it outside, only to be greeted by a taller man in a tan buttoned-up peacoat, walking up to them both with his hands in his pockets. “Lieutenant Niijima, what is this?”

“This man is suspected of vigilantism, sir.” She responded.

The man smirked as he knew what the next line the man in the coat was going to say.

“Vigilantism? He’s working for us, Lieutenant.” He said with a confused expression, before sighing and shaking his head, putting his face into his palm. “Remove the handcuffs off of our 'dog', please.” He looked back at the man, “I apologize sincerely, Joker. Thank you for your work.”

Her jaw fell as she stopped and looked at Joker and then back at the commissioner. “W-Why was I not aware of his presence in the vicinity, sir?!” 

He sighed and shook his head again. “It was not on a need to know basis, Miss Niijima.”

“I could’ve shot him!” 

“And you didn’t, so it matters not.” He sighed. “Now get the damn handcuffs off of him, please.” And with that, he walked off into the bank to help with the arrest of the criminals who were still all unconscious inside.

She huffed out a sigh and shook her head, digging in her pocket to pull out a key, unlocking the handcuffs that bound Joker’s wrists. “You better start explaining, Ren.” 

He laughed, but it quickly died down as he adjusted the cuffs at his wrists. “You guys hired me.”

“They… hired you?” She asked, raising a brow as she followed him down the front steps.

“I’m a freelancer.” He muttered. “Your fellow higher-ups needed someone to get their job done for them, so they hired me to do it for them.”

“I can’t believe them… So what, are you a mercenary or something?.” She muttered quietly, looking aside.

He smirked as they began walking towards her bike. “I am... But c’ mon, Queen you need to lig-”

“Don’t call me that!” She snapped, turning to him as she pushed her finger against his chest.

“Fine. _‘Your majesty’_ it is, then.” He said with a smug grin, following shortly behind her as they approached her motorcycle.

“You haven’t changed a bit…” She growled lowly. “Still immature, still acting superior in every way, still stomping over society like you’re some sort of king! I bet you didn’t even care for all of us in your little team! If you weren’t so damn careless all the time, Akechi would still be alive! You left us, Ren! You abandoned us, you turned yourself in and fucking disappeared for eight years!” Her voice began to rise as she constantly jammed her finger against his chest.

That struck a nerve.

He moved in a lightning speed as he grabbed her wrist. “I’ve changed Makoto. I’m doing the only thing a thief could do... I’m sorry I cared for the privacy and futures of my teammates!” He lashed out. “It was either I turn myself in and keep your identities a secret or we all get arrested! I ruined my own goddamn future protecting your guys’. I'm sorry if you're too blinded by your anger to see the reasoning behind my decision!” He said, his voice trembling with his teeth gritted and shown off to her in a nasty grimace. She couldn’t see it, but there were tears beginning to form.

Her eyes widened slightly and guilt overcame her. “I-I…” Before she could finish her sentence, Ryuji came walking over to the two.

“Hey, RenRen!” He said with a cheery smile, smacking Ren’s back.

Ren immediately released Makoto’s wrist as he turned to Ryuji. “Long time no see, Ryuji.”

“It’s been eight years, buddy. I heard you’re working with us, now!” He said, wrapping his arm around Ren’s shoulder, putting some weight on his old friend. 

“Indeed, I am.” He said, a grin returning on his face. Classic Ryuji Sakamoto, his entire aura exuding happiness and glee. It always brought a smile to Ren’s face

“Well, what do ya say, wanna go out and get some drinks?” He asked with the same cheery tone in his voice as always.

“I’m not opposed to it, we’ve got some catching up to do.” 

“How about you, Makoto?” Ryuji asked, directing his attention to the Lieutenant. 

She sighed and looked at Ren, staring into those lifeless black glasses and then back at Ryuji. “Only one drink… That’s it.” She said with a sigh, taking a few steps and swinging her leg over her bike, balancing it up with her legs on either side as she took the helmet, holding it in both hands as she looked at Ren. “Oh, and it’s nighttime, Ren… You can take off your sunglasses.” Then she slipped the helmet on and rode off towards the nearest bar. 

Ren sighed and shook his head, turning back to Ryuji. “Mind if I just get a ride with you to the bar?” 

Ryuji shrugged. “Sure. Let’s go.” He said, removing his arm from Ren’s shoulder as he waved for him to follow him to his cruiser, heading to the same bar Makoto was going to.

As she rode, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. _‘Goddamnit! Why does he always come back!? That stupid handsome smirk… Ugh, now I have to work together with him again?! That dumb reckless and selfless idiot always finds a way of messing with me, doesn’t he?!’_ Needless to say, her time spent with Ryuji during training had certainly expanded her vocabulary. She mumbled quiet curses under the helmet as she pulled into the parking lot of a lonesome bar that was on the corner of a very empty street. There wasn’t a single car, which was a good sign. 

She sighed and stepped off the back, standing up as she slipped the helmet off, resting it on the seat of her motorcycle as she took the keys out of the ignition, slipping them into her pocket. She then dug into a small pack that was just behind the seat, grabbing a blue peacoat, slipping it on over her uniform. She watched the cruiser pull in to the parking lot, watching as the two men stepped out, laughing at each other as they went into the bar. _‘Him and his stupid night sunglasses!’_

She grumbled and followed shortly after them, walking into the building, joining Ryuji and Ren as they sat across from each other in a booth. She took a seat next to Ryuji and stared at Ren. She swore she could feel the two of them lock eyes, regardless of Ren’s eyes being blocked by the night-sunglasses. 

“So, where have you been these past seven years, buddy?!” Ryuji asked, his forearms crossed across the table as he leaned in.

“Well. I spent some time in America and that’s when I learned of this little ‘business’ deal. Then, I got employed in the middle east where I had to do some… rather unsavory things, but it paid well. I came back to Japan after four years of being a mercenary for the American forces in the middle east. I was called up by some higher-ups in the SIU and they said they could use me… So here I am.” He said with a small shrug. 

_‘Why is he still wearing those stupid sunglasses!? We’re inside and it's so disrespectful to Ryuji and me!’_ She thought to herself, listening to his very blasé telling of a rather intriguing story. “So, you're just a dog of war?” She asked, raising a brow.

“If that’s how you want to put it.” He said with a shrug.

“Woah! So you got into firefights and had to roll around with humvees and JEEPs?!” Ryuji asked, very clearly invested in what Ren did during his ‘war dog’ time.

Ren chuckled and shook his head. “No. I was usually assigned to go on night firebomb raids or covert operations… Assassinations, intel recovery, hostage rescues.” 

Makoto couldn’t quite bear it any longer. “Why are you still wearing those sunglasses? It’s eleven-PM and you’re inside. You look like that arrogant club owner that Eiko dated.” She blurted out, earning her two awkwardly quiet stares.

“Still concerned about that, huh?” He asked, sighing softly as he took off the sunglasses.

Makoto refrained from letting out an audible gasp as she saw Ren’s left eye was squeezed shut, a large diagonal red scar crossing over it, sealing his eyelids together. He simply sat with a frown as he watched her 

Ryuji had a look of shock, but it quickly returned to his normal cheeky smile. "I have to say, only you could make such a nasty scar look good, RenRen. How'd ya get it?"

“This was a lesson I learned that being captured during operations wasn’t a good idea.” He looked aside, turning his head so the scar was hidden by the other half of his face.

“I-I’m sorry… I’m sure you wear them to hide the scar, I see that now.” Makoto mumbled out quietly, folding her hands in her lap.

Ren nodded slightly. “Yeah. It’s no big deal, you guys are my best friends, so it shouldn’t matter, right?” 

Ryuji nodded and flashed a toothy smile. “Hell yeah! Always, man!” 

_‘Just friends… huh?’_ The inner teenager in Makoto's conscious said. _‘This is why I cannot stand him! I’ve liked him for far too long and it drives me absolutely insane! Why can’t I get over him! That big… dummy going and getting captured like that!’_ Her inner conscious then screamed. 

“Anywho… It’s almost midnight. I have an early morning tomorrow so I best get home.” Ren finally said, leaving cash enough for all three of the drinks they had boughten. Then, just like that, he walked outside and turned, heading down the sidewalk and out of sight.

“Do you think he has a place to stay?” Makoto asked, looking over at Ryuji as he took a large drink. 

Ryuji let out a satisfied _‘Ahhhh’_ and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Most likely not, knowing Ren he’d probably just walk around and pass out on a bench.”

“He couldn't be homeless.” She defended.

“How do you know that? Besides, the last time we saw him he was sleeping in an attic of an old ass cafe.” 

“You do have a good point.” She said with a small light-hearted chuckle, taking a smaller drink out of the glass, the bitter taste immediately punching her straight in the throat. Her nose scrunched up and her eyes squinted closed. “Gah… It's been a while since I’ve had a beer.” She muttered quietly, lifting her head away from her glass to see Ryuji chug the rest of his down.

“What, six years or so?”

She nodded. 

“So what made you decide tonight was worth breaking the streak?” He asked with a smirk.

“I just wanted to know what happened with Ren. He just disappeared for eight years without a single goodbye.” She mumbled quietly, looking away from him in an attempt to hide her already glowing pink cheeks.

“I won’t lie, that was a dick move… But maybe he thought if he came to say bye, he could never leave us for that long? Y’know… The others and all that. Or maybe he didn’t want to upset us by him telling us he’s turning himself in.”

She nodded, staring at the drink in front of her. “Yeah… Maybe.”

“Anyways, I’m out, Makoto… Have a safe night.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Ryuji slipped out from the booth, waving thanks to the bartender as he left.

Makoto sighed and took another drink, getting past the bitter taste once more, only cause she didn’t want to waste money, even if it wasn’t her own. 

Finally, after a few forced gulps, she finally found herself back on her bike, riding towards her apartment complex. She parked the bike in the front, stepping off of it and walking into the lobby, turning right and going directly to the elevator, ready to clock in after an exhausting day.

She went up to the apartment and yawned as she jammed the keys into the lock, twisting them and opening the door, kicking it shut behind her as she went off for her room.

As soon as she entered she was greeted with a Buchimaru-kun stuffed animal sitting nicely on her bed, a note taped onto its back

_‘I had Sae bring this to you, I hope you do still enjoy Buchimaru-kun stuff, I guess._

_Your Majetsy's truly, Joker’_

She sighed and shook her head, taking the note and tossing it away into the trash, grabbing the stuffed panda bear, resting it on her desk as she slipped herself out of the uniform, changing into much more comfortable clothes, lying down in bed, her phone buzzing on its desk. 

She grumbled and sat up, reaching over and grabbing her phone, seeing a message.

 **Joker:** Look forward to working with you, Queen.

 **Makoto:** I can’t say I’m the same. Go get some sleep, Ren.

 **Joker:** Ouch :(

_Joker is typing…_

**Joker:** Also I can’t sleep anyways. 

**Makoto:** Why not?

 **Joker:** I’ve got another job to take care of.

 **Makoto:** Just don’t get killed, fool.

_Joker is typing…_

_Joker is typing…_

Then suddenly, his bubbles disappeared. 

_‘That’s odd.’_ She thought to herself, beginning to type until his dots popped back up.

_Joker is typing..._

**Joker:** Right.

_Makoto Niijima is now offline._

Ren sighed as he put the phone in his right pocket, reaching into his suit jacket as he pulled out a pistol, screwing on a silencer over the barrel. _‘Welp… She definitely hates me.’_ He thought to himself as he tucked the pistol back in his jacket, approaching a few men who stood in a dimly lit alleyway, one of them carrying a metallic briefcase. 

“Good evening, boys.” He said cooly as he approached the group, adjusting one of his red gloves as he did so.

“Who the hell are ya?!” One of them barked, raising a gun to him. 

“I’m the Joker. And before you ask what I am going to do. I’m going to beat the shit out of all three of you, take the briefcase, and turn it into the police department."

The man holding the gun looked over at his colleague, who was just as perplexed as he was. “Exc-“ 

Before he could finish his sentence, Ren took their shock as a chance. He spun and kicked the pistol out of the man’s hand with the back of his heel, then planting his leg firmly against the ground and sending a lightning fast fist straight onto the man’s jugular, sending him sprawling across the ground. 

He then turned to the man with the briefcase, who attempted to smack him with the briefcase, only to whiff him entirely. Ren sighed and punched the man straight in the jaw, “A briefcase, really? Oop!” He yelped, ducking a stray punch, using his now lower ground to his advantage, ramming his shoulder into the waist of the final man, slamming his back against the wall, the man falling to a knee as he completely lost his breath. Ren sighed and took a few steps back, brushing off his coat.

He rolled his shoulder and broke into a short sprint at the man, his arms stopping himself from ramming into the wall, however, his knee continued going until it connected with the man’s nose. Ren could hear a crunch and then a loud thud, the man’s head bouncing off of the brick wall, flopping to his side unconsciously.

“T-This is police brutality!” The man with briefcase cried out as he attempted scuttling away, hugging the briefcase to his chest. 

Ren adjusted his jacket, turning to face the man. “Do I look like an officer to you?”

“N-No… But you could be undercover!” He explained, 

“Oh quit it. Just give me the briefcase and I won’t shatter your collarbone.” Ren warned with a gentle and warm tone to his grizzly words.

“Right!” He yelped out as he tossed the briefcase at Ren.

He caught it and nodded to the man, turning around and walking off.

The man took this chance as an opportunity and yelled out as he drew a gun from behind him, firing two shots, one of them piercing Ren’s right shoulder, the other grazing his neck.

Ren let out a cry in pain, stopping and turning around, unholstering his own pistol, firing off one singular round that found itself in between the man’s eyes, his body falling lifelessly.

“Damnit! Goddamnit! Ow, fuck!” Ren cried out, gripping tightly onto his shoulder as he began to stumble through the streets, a thick blood trail being left along the sidewalk.

Finally, he found himself at another open bar, he pushed himself through the door. 

The bartender looked at him, “Welcome, si- Holy shit, you okay, man?” 

Ren looked over at him “Just give me a medkit and I’ll be fine.” 

“Is that a bullet wound?!” He asked, unmoving from his position.

“Just get me the damn medkit!” Ren screamed out, his hand beginning to lose grip around the briefcase. 

The man yelped and reached down, grabbing a box of medical supplies and slid it over across the bartop to Ren. “T-There!” 

Ren nodded and disappeared out of the bar, taking the kit with him, using his bicep to press the supply box against his rib cage, continuing to try his hardest to cover the wound. 

He sighed and sat down on a bench, setting both the medkit and the briefcase down beside him, sliding off his jacket and the undoing his red tie, then beginning to work on his collared shirt, unbuttoning it and taking it off. 

He then shakily reached for the medical box, grabbing the rubbing alcohol, unscrewing the lid and dumping it over his two wounds, the smaller gash on his neck and the hole on his shoulder. He gritted his teeth in pain as the shock erupted throughout his entire nervous system, making his body tense up. “Gah! Fuck!” 

He then reached a shaky hand into the medical box, pulling out a needle and thread, beginning to get to work on his shoulder. He jammed the needle in through one end of the opening, crossing it over to the next, doing around two or three crosses before one end of the wound was sealed. He bit the string and ripped it off, beginning to immediately work on the dorsal side of the wound, tilting his head so he could see the back of his shoulder, beginning to stitch it back up. 

Finally, the first bullet hole was stitched up, then he began on his neck, going solely by feeling alone. He had to use four or five crosses before the wound was sealed completely.

Ren finally sighed in relief as the bleeding stopped. He bit the string and tore it, tossing the bloody needle into the medkit, grabbing some gauze and bandages. He covered both wounds with the bandages, using gauze to keep the cotton strips pressed against his wounds, collecting any small amount of excess blood that could escape.

His eyes fluttered tiredly as he finally finished, his entire shoulder covered in the bandage, then his whole neck wrapped in the gauze, looking as if he were wearing a very thin scarf. He slipped off his gloves and sighed quietly, his vision slightly blurry from the amount of blood he leaked across the street. He rested on his back, he legs hanging off the edge of the bench as he used his bloody suit jacket as a pillow. 

He held the briefcase on his chest, wrapping his good arm around it as he dozed off to sleep, dried blood covering his chest and arm.

At least he got a night of peaceful sleep.

_As peaceful as it can be, sleeping on a bench in public with a trail of blood leading directly to you._


	2. The War Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto finds a bloody, sleepy, and stubborn Ren lying down on the bench and decides to give him the chance to make himself look human again. 
> 
> Buuuut.... Makoto hasn't gotten much better at controlling her emotions

Her eyes fluttered open as the dim yellow glow from the sun pierced through her curtains, sending thin yellow rays of light across her room. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, stretching an arm above her head as she let out a yawn.

Makoto swung her legs out of bed and looked over to her desk, noticing the stuffed animal. _‘So it wasn’t a dream… Ren Amamiya is back in Shibuya.’_

She frowned and walked to the bathroom, pulling off her sleep attire as she turned on a burning hot shower, stepping in and washing her body off, then moving on to her hair, using her shampoo and conditioner sparingly.

She turned off the shower and stepped out, the mirror clouded with mist. She grabbed a towel that was hanging from the doorway, wrapping it around her torso, approaching the sink and wiping away the mist with her hand, grabbing a toothbrush out of a small cup, continuing on with her normal wake up routine. She didn’t have to go to work today, it was luckily one of her few off-days.

Makoto walked out of the bathroom and walked back to her room, pulling on a pair of undergarments, then quickly slipping up a pair of fitted blue jeans, walking to her closet and grabbing a simple black shirt, slipping it on. She grabbed her french-braided headband from off the desk and headed for the door, grabbing her keys as she left.

She left her apartment building, locking the door behind her as she made for the elevator. She stepped into it and rode it down, walking out of the front door and down the steps.

As she stepped down to the sidewalk, Makoto could easily detect the dried bloody trail stretching across the cement. She raised an eyebrow as she began to follow it, either to find the source of the bleeding or where it began. 

She walked along, keeping her pace quick, at least as fast as possible without drawing any attention. It seemed a few other bystanders noticed the trail but simply ignored it, walking past it.

After walking two blocks, she saw two blood trails at the entrance of a bar, one for going in and one coming out. She kept on her path and followed shortly until she came to a bench, where she could see the shape of a man lying. She noticed a larger pool at the bottom and determined that was the source.

She approached cautiously, stepping up behind the bench and looking down. She immediately noticed the dried blood covering the whole man’s right side, his shirt on the concrete beneath the bench, his jacket being used as a pillow, and his tie jumbled up beneath the shirt. She frowned and shook her head. _‘I’ll at least make sure he’s alive.’_ She thought to herself, reaching down to feel along his neck for a pulse, accidentally pressing against the wound.

Ren hissed in pain and his hand shot and grabbed the wrist of whoever was touching at his neck. He clenched tightly and his eyes shot open, looking to see that it was Makoto. He sighed and released his grip. “It’s you.” 

She let out a loud yelp as her wrist was gripped by what could only feel like an unbreakable grip. However, she quickly ripped her hand away from him as he loosened his grip. “What the hell happened to you?” 

He frowned and sat up with a quiet grunt of pain, reaching down and grabbing his bloody shirt, sliding it over his wounds, the right side hardened and crusty due to the dried blood. He then reached over and grabbed the suit jacket that he used as a makeshift pillow, sliding it on. He finally bent down and felt beneath him until his hand came into contact with the tie, he snatched it and wrapped it around his neck, looping it a few times and fitting it accordingly. He adjusted his collar and fixed his jacket, buttoning the two middle buttons.

“Uhm… Hello?!” She waved her hand in front of him in attempts to get his attention.

He stopped and turned his head to her, his scarred eye facing her as he gave her his attention. “What?” He asked.

“What happened? How did you get those injuries?” She asked, seeing as he stood up, holding a metallic briefcase in his hand. 

He was silent for a second and turned his head away from her. “It’s not like you’d care much anyways.” He said blandly, beginning his pace. 

Makoto froze at those words but snapped out of it as she watched him begin to walk off. “Hey! That’s not true!” 

“Oh?” He chuckled, turning around to face her. “Ever since I’ve shown my face, you’ve acted like I'm nothing but a fucking nuisance to you!” He said, pointing an accusing finger at her, however, his face tensed up in pain as he lifted his arm and quickly returned it back to his side. “At least Ryuji pretended to be glad to see I wasn’t dead in a ditch.” 

She had a hurt expression on her face as she looked at her shoes. “You’re right. I’m still upset with you but I can see what you did was what you thought was right. I’m so-” 

“Save it… I’ve got a job to finish.” He said, turning around and beginning to walk again. 

She frowned and grabbed his good shoulder, tugging him back towards her. “No. I’m not letting you walk around in public like… this.” She said, gesturing with her hand to his bloody and battered attire. “I’ll take you to your house, the garage my bike is at isn’t far from here.” 

Ren gave her a bored expression. “House?” He repeated.

“You have to have one, right?” She asked, her eyes widening slightly.

“How much do you think a mercenary gets paid?’” He asked, an amused grin on his face.

“I don’t know how much _dogs_ make!” She said, bitterness in her tone. But she immediately regretted seeing as she could see his amused smile turn into a pained and saddened expression.

“Just enough to eat with a few to spare,” He muttered quietly, turning on his heel, trying to walk once more until he was stopped again.

“How long have you been in Shibuya and where have you been sleeping?” 

“I haven’t been sleeping much and I’ve been in Shibuya for about two or so months.” 

She frowned. “Ren… I want to help.” 

“I doubt that.” He said with an annoyed smile, giving her a curt nod, tearing himself away from her grip once more, walking off.

She growled and raised her voice. “I swear to god, Ren Amamiya, I will beat you unconscious and drag you to my own damn apartment!” 

He turned around and smirked in amusement. “I’m not the same boy as I was when I was seventeen. So if you’d like to try, please feel free to do so, Lieutenant.” 

She growled and closed the distance between her and him, grabbing him by his tie and pulling his head lower, her forehead meeting with his, their noses almost touching against each other. “You’re a huge pain in the ass you know that?” 

He grinned and rolled his eyes. “And what will you do about it?” 

She let out another hushed murmur and released his tie, throwing a punch aimed for his gut, but Ren now was simply too fast.

He dropped the briefcase and caught her hand, twisting her wrist, Makoto’s knees buckling as her form began to lower. His leg then swang directly towards her face, however, his shin stopped just before it could collide with her jaw. He then released her hand and adjusted his tie, walking off. 

_‘What the hell is wrong with him?’_ She thought to herself as she held her wrist in her other hand, watching as he went off. It looked just the same as the last time she saw him, on Christmas night after they defeated Yaldabaoth. Never again. “Ren, please!” She cried out after him, earning his attention as he turned to face her. 

She took a deep breath and looked at him. “I’m not letting you disappear again…” She said, approaching him, a sad expression on her face.

“Then just come with me… I’m only going to the police station to deliver this case.” He said with a small shrug.

“Eh?!” Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “W-What do you mean!?” 

“I don’t see why you wo-“ His eyes widened slightly as he saw tears begin to form in her eyes, her eyes glossing over and having a subtle shine to them, making her already near-crimson eyes a brighter crimson. “Makoto..?”

She fought back the tears and bit her lip, looking at her feet before looking back up at him, grabbing the lapels of his jacket. “You idiot! I never want to see you leave again! You were my best friend and you keep on leading me on like you’re about to leave and it scares me!” She took a deep breath. “It is very poor for my heart!” 

He was speechless for a few moments and looked down at her. “I thought you... hated me..?” 

“Of course I don’t hate you… I hate what you did but I couldn’t ever hate you.” She admitted, looking aside, then suddenly snapping back towards him. “So, please, Ren. Can we just get you back to looking human, please?” 

He frowned and thought for a moment, his eyes avoiding her stare. “Is that all this is really about?”

Makoto thought for a second. _‘Not at all’_ but instead, she hesitated before speaking. “Y-Yes! I hate seeing you like this… It reminds me of when you came back from the interrogation room.” She mumbled out, glad she had dodged a bullet.

He held his side-glance, sitting there awkwardly as she clung onto his jacket. “Fine… But how are you going to fix this?” 

She finally released him and put a loose knuckle to her chin. “I do not know… But a shower would be a good start.” 

He couldn’t stop himself from cracking a smile. _‘I’ve missed her so damn much…’_ He wished he could convey those feelings right now, but he couldn’t. Not after disappearing for eight years and suddenly making an appearance out of the blue.

“I guess you can use my shower.” She said with a slight sigh. “Just please tell me you have a change of clothes on you.” 

Ren shook his head. “Can’t say I do.” 

Makoto frowned, “Alright, um... I’ll just wash your clothes while you shower. It’ll be difficult to get all of this blood out… But I’ll get the job done.” She said, grabbing his arm that held the briefcase and walking back the same path, soon approaching her apartment.

The whole walk Ren had been analyzing the blood trail left. “Jeez… I bled this much?” 

She nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t pass out fifty meters from here.” A slight chuckle following shortly afterward as she began to climb up the steps, walking into the apartment’s lobby, quickly ushering him towards the elevator. 

She joined him in the elevator and hit the button signed with an ‘8’. Rising up the floors until it came to a slow stop. 

She led him to her apartment and unlocked the door, pulling him inside before shutting the door and locking it.

“It’s a nice place…” He said, looking around the living room to see it was one simple large room, only the surfaces of the floor were different. Where the television set and couch were located was a crisp and clean white carpet that stretched across to the dining room, was then cut off by slick and shiny white tiled floor in the kitchen. 

She nodded. “It’s surprising to see what you can get when you have a real job.” She said, shooting him a stare that screamed a sassy stare 

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “It's not like I take pride in my work.” 

She rolled her eyes and gestured to the bathroom door. “Go take a shower, pass out all of your clothes before you get in, though.”

He nodded as he walked into the smaller bathroom, resting the silver briefcase on the countertop, stripping the jacket off of himself, the shirt soon following, along with his slacks and socks. He folded them all neatly, leaving an exception to his underwear knowing that Makoto would most likely try to punch him in the mouth for putting them in the pile. He turned the shower on then walked back to the folded pile of clothes, cracking the door and shoving them out onto the carpeted floor.

She picked them up and sighed, leaving the apartment to go across a few hallways, coming to a small room where the washing machines were located. She forked in some Yen and tossed the clothes into the washer, turning on the setting for ‘Deep wash’ and started it.

Ren finally finished his shower, taking extra time to wash off the dried blood stains covering half of his body. He, of course, winced in pain as he went over the fresh stitches, which were done poorly but he couldn’t care less, he didn’t bleed out and that’s all he cared about. He stepped out, grabbing a towel, running it across his head as his once fluffy hair now drooped down, completely covering his face behind the black locks.

After a long and awkward fifteen minutes of sitting in the bathroom, he heard a knock on the door. 

“Your clothes are outside and on the floor to the right.” He heard Makoto’s voice through the door. 

“O-Okay. Thank you.” He said, just barely loud enough to be heard. He cracked the door open and reached out, grabbing the clothes, setting them on the countertop beside the sink. He slipped up his boxers, then followed by his pants, finally, followed by his full black attire.

He adjusted his tie and sighed in relief, the clothes were still warm from the drying machine. He rolled his one good shoulder and grabbed the briefcase off of the countertop and walked out, seeing her back faced to him as she was on the couch.

He approached from behind, noticing she was on her phone, which instinctually prompted him to reach for his phone, but he quickly realized it was missing. “Is that my phone?” 

She turned and looked up at him, widened eyes “I couldn’t help my curiosity! I didn’t look at anything private, I promise! J-Just your photos really. See if you captured anything from the past eight years.” 

He shrugged and walked around the couch, taking a seat beside her. “I’m surprised you were able to get most of this blood out.” He said, setting the briefcase down.

She ignored his small remark and looked at him. “A lot of photos of these mountains and lots of them in the sand… I’m assuming Afghanistan?” 

He nodded. “You’d be correct.”

She continued scrolling, finding images of Ren stand beside another man, both with their arms wrapped around the other’s shoulder, smiling gleefully at the screen. They were both wearing full black gear, the small patch on their vest saying two English words. _“Devil Dogs”_

She knew enough English to read the two words and hummed in curiosity as she turned to face him, showing him the image. “Devil Dogs?” She asked cautiously. While she was curious about his past, she didn’t want to bring up any hard memories.

Ren saw the image and frowned. He took the phone out of her hand, slipping it in his pocket and standing up before she even said a word. “I think I should be going.” He bent down, grabbing the case and beginning to head for the door.

“Wait!” 

He stopped and turned to her. “Why?!” He snapped.

“I-I didn’t want to bring up anything bad… I was just curious.” She said as she stood up and approached him. “I just want to know what happened to my friend the eight years he went missing.” 

“I already told you what happened. There’s nothing more to my story. I’m contracted to fight and I get paid to. Nothing more, nothing less!” He said, throwing his arms out in an attempt to get out his frustration which built up so suddenly from the sight of the photo.

“Ren. I want to know what happened!” She growled lowly, that old Queen voice beginning to come back in to play. 

Ren knew not to play with fire or you’ll get burnt, but he didn’t know who was the blazing inferno in this situation. “He died!” He yelled out, abruptly.

She cocked an eyebrow. “Who?” 

“The guy in the picture, the man who was my best friend for six of those eight years. Dead! Gone! Never to walk this planet again!” He said loudly. It turned out he was the fire.

“Then, tell me what the _fuck_ happened, Ren!” She screamed back at him.

Nevermind. He was **not** the fire.

He froze up. He rarely ever heard Makoto scream. The last time he could recall her screaming at someone was in Kaneshiro’s Palace. When she first became ‘Queen.’ Now she was screaming at him. 

_Shit._

“Ren… You can’t keep those burdens to yourself.” Her tone softened, her voice lightening up. “I’ve seen how quickly people can form a palace… And dealing with Joker isn’t exactly on my to-do list.” 

He frowned and rolled his eyes. “What do I have to do to make you not want to kill me?” 

_‘Okay… I got him to finally be reasonable. Don’t say anything rash or out of line. Just something simple!’_ She mentally planned out.

“After we turn in that briefcase of whatever it is inside, we come back to this place and you stay off the streets and with me for a few days!” Her eyes widening as she didn’t exactly intend on the last part coming out. “T-To recover your strength and so I-I can make sure your wounds heal p-properly!” 

_‘Damnit, what the hell are you saying!?’_ She yelled at herself in her head.

He looked at her with a completely baffled look, but it softened into a smirk. “Looks like some things never change.” He turned back, opening the door. “Let’s just get this stupid case to those pigs.”

“Hey!” She said with a large frown. “I’ll have you know I’m also a cop and those are my men you’re talking about!” 

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. “I think you forgot my past with cops isn’t exactly great.” He said, holding the door open for her, gesturing with one arm for her to exit. As Makoto passed him, he leaned down and whispered. “With exceptions to one, I suppose.” 

Her face turned dark red as she turned her face away from him and briskly walking to the elevator. He sighed and walked into the kitchen, grabbing her set of keys off the counter. “I didn’t take her to be the ‘I lost my keys’ type.” He said to himself with a small laugh, walking out of the apartment and following in pursuit. 

He tossed her the keys to her own apartment and stepped into the elevator beside her, riding it down. 

The two left the building, heading straight for the police department. As soon as they arrived, Ren took the lead and walked forward, going straight to the commissioner's office. He walked in, setting the briefcase on his desk.

“So… You got it done, I can see.” The man behind the desk said coolly, grabbing the crate and spinning it to face him. He popped it open and looked at the contents inside.

Bags packed tight of white powder.

“This is a huge blow to them… But, I have to ask you something.” He said, his tone turning from slightly impressed to darker.

Makoto pressed her ear to the door as she eavesdropped in on the conversation.

“Didn’t I say you’re not to use lethal force on crooks!?” The commissioner suddenly burst out, screaming and slamming his hands on the desk.

“You did,” Ren said simply, crossing his arms.

“Oh right! I did! So why was there a man with a damn bullet between his eyes?!” He roared out, keeping his hands firmly pressed against the desk.

“I have two bullet holes because of him, is it not my right to defend myself, Commissioner?” Ren asked, his voice rising slightly.

“Dogs don’t get rights.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Listen, old man. If you want to make this harder on yourself, be my guest, but if I’m not allowed to work the way I do, then our deal is off.”

“What’re you gonna do without any money?! You’ll be wandering these streets! You need this job.” 

“I don’t need anything you pricks have to offer. I’ve been wandering the streets for eight years. Four of them were with Kalashnikovs threatening to put a bullet in my skull every second of every day.” Ren grew louder. He stepped up to the desk, looking at the commissioner in the eye with his singular good one. “I’ve been fighting for four years, stand in my way again, and you’ll fight these drug lords on your own, you got that?” 

The commissioner sat in silence, sulking at Ren. “Fine… Now get the hell out of my office.”

Ren held out his hand. “For the trouble you’ve caused me. I’d like some pay… I did get shot twice for that stupid package.” 

The Commissioner sighed and frowned. “Fine. But it’s just an early payment from your total contract.” 

“Good enough for me.” He said quietly, taking the stack of cash he was handed. He held it in his hand and counted it out. _‘Five-thousand for two bullets? I’ll take that any day.’_ He said with a grin but quickly wiped it away. He then nodded his head to the commissioner and turned to the door, seeing a figure step away from it. He opened it up and looked at Makoto who stood to the side.

“You two certainly get along.” She said, sarcasm tainting her voice.

He looked at the yen in his hand, splitting into two even stacks. He tucked one half into his pocket, then grabbed her hand.

“H-Hey!” 

He opened her palm and stuffed the cash in her hand. “Consider it rent.” He said, walking past her and out of the police station. 

“W-What? No!” She tried denying the cash but he had already walked out. She frowned and ran to catch up with him. Her thoughts racing as she chased after him. 

_‘He hasn’t had a home in eight years? He probably hasn’t slept in a real bed for 9 years considering Leblanc didn’t exactly have a bed. What the hell has he been doing all of this time?!’_

Finally, she caught up to him and slowed to a walk as she stood, shoulder-to-shoulder with him. “Stop just walking off like that.” 

“If you say so.” He shrugged.

Then they approached the apartment complex, walking up the stairs and into the main lobby, cutting right into the elevator, riding it up to her floor. 

“Hey, Makoto.” 

She turned and looked at him, “Yes?” 

“Am I just a dog to you?” He asked. 

Whatever he was feeling, she couldn’t read it in his expression or in his face. He looked emotionless and cold and his words had no real meaning behind them, they were just that, words.

She sighed and turned her head, shaking it. “No. You’re my friend, Ren.” After that, she heard him hum, which must’ve meant the answer satisfied him. “I’ll make us dinner. I’m sure it’s been quite a while since you have actually eaten a good meal.”

“I’ve gotten around nicely with just MRE’s.” He said with a shrug, stepping out of the elevator, following to her room. “I’m probably going to need to spend the remaining amount of my money on a new suit.” He muttered to himself, which caught Makoto’s attention as she unlocked the door.

She turned to him and took the bills in her hand and shoved them back into his hand. “I’m not a landlord, I don’t need you to pay me rent.”

He raised a brow but shrugged off the act of kindness. ‘So you pay me with your pity.’ He thought to himself, following her into the room, walking to the couch as he slumped down, his vision getting slightly hazy. “I’m going to take a nap.” He mumbled tiredly as his eyes closed. 

“No worries. I’ll wake you up when dinner is ready.” She said with a short sigh, seeing as he was already out cold. _‘I suppose it’s natural to feel tired after losing so much blood.’_ She walked to the kitchen and turned the stove on, preparing the two of them some dinner. _‘I’m going to make that boy open up to me. I will!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, second chapter is done and our Ren is a very VERY sleepy boi.
> 
> I have been sorta battling myself mentally about this, whether I want it to be a slow burn romance sort of thing or would you guys prefer to see their relationship get settled and established so we can see the badass power couple kicking ass together? It's totally up to you guys, so let me know in a comment! (plz i really dont know) 
> 
> Anywho, thank you again for reading and I really hope you guys are enjoying this as much as Barista Boy (there may or may not be a chapter for that coming soon? it really depends), so yeah, thanks for reading!


	3. Beginning to Break The Barrier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto shares a meal with Ren, where she learns the primary reason of Ren's lack of currency and a reason for why he continues to throw himself in harm's way.

“Joker, Get down!” 

A man screamed as he tackled Joker to the ground behind a large boulder, bullets soon following shortly after the man decorated in black.

Ren could hear the constant machine gun fire, but they weren’t nearly as loud as the hissing of the bullets that were sent just a few inches from his head. He was in a daze. _‘What the hell is happening? Where did they come from? When did they suddenly acquire such firepower? What next… We’re pinned by a mounted machine gun who also happens to have the upper ground, this spells out certain death! Dammit!’_

“Snap out of it, Ren!” The man screamed once more, shaking Ren violently before he ducked, more bullets whizzing just past where his head was. 

“What’s the plan, Al?!” Ren screamed in return, pressing his back against the boulder. 

“I think I got one!” Al replied, beginning to reposition himself so he was on a knee, facing the direction of the gunfire. “If we both stand up and take shots at the time, that’ll give us a window of time to take a single shot as he determines which one of us to shoot!” 

“Are you fucking insane?! One of us will get torn to shreds!” Ren screamed in reply. “Alex, listen to me! We can just make a dash for the river and follow it down for the waterfall where we can take a better position!” 

“Just do what I fucking said Ren, it will work!” The man screamed in response.

Ren sighed and turned, positioning himself in the same manner as his friend. He looked over at him, but then back at the gunner.

“One… Two… Three…” Al counted down, standing up alongside Ren as he said the word three.

Ren and Al both shot up to a standing position taking aim at the nested gunner, who was caught flustered for just a single second at the sudden presence of the two mercs. 

Al fired a shot.

It missed its target, the round slamming against the sandbag beside the guy's legs.

Ren was about to fire when he felt a sudden pain rip through his right bicep and shoulder. He screamed in pain and fell onto his back, his gun dropping against the floor.

Al fired once more and the bullet found its mark, hitting the man in the temple.

Ren groaned in pain as he clung onto his bleeding arm. _‘That fucker missed!?’_ He gritted his teeth and began taking deep breaths. 

“Shit… Ren, let’s go, we’re getting you out of here. Evac should be about 2 clicks out.” Al said, bending down as he hooked his neck underneath Ren’s unwounded arm. He stood the two of them up and began walking. He then heard screams from behind him, a mass amount of Taliban soldiers flooding down the mountainside, taking singular shots at the two men. 

Al turned away and picked up the walk into a full-on sprint, Ren trying his best to not stumble and fall as the two dashed between pieces of cover, avoiding bullets until one caught him in the thigh. 

Ren cried out again and stumbled down, falling to his side and rolling a few feet, sliding in the dirt and rocks. 

Al quickly joined his side, turning Ren onto his back as he hooked both arms underneath Ren’s shoulders, dragging him back. 

Even more bullets hissed their direction, most landing near the ground beside them, kicking up dirt and sand. 

Then, Ren heard Al cry out in pain. “Gah, I’m hit!” 

However, Al kept dragging Ren, regardless of the wound. _‘Americans are stubborn like that.’_ Ren thought.

They had gotten about another one-hundred meters until Al finally collapsed. Ren rolled onto his stomach, crawling up to meet Al’s height. He grabbed the man’s vest and pulled him alongside him, developing a pattern in attempts to gain more ground. He’d pull himself ahead, then drag Alex up to him, rinse and repeat. 

Then, he felt a boot stomp on his back and kick him over.

Ren’s eyes widened as he looked up to see the same soldiers who were chasing them, Kalashnikovs in hand, pointed straight at his face. 

Alex groaned out. “Fuckers! Took about fifty of you just to take down two of us!” He laughed out a painful laugh.

Ren saw where the blood was beginning to trickle from, the bullet had caught Al straight in the abdomen, most likely having pierced through two vital organs. Ren’s attention was drawn away as he heard another seemingly American voice.

He saw a man approach, wearing all desert camouflage, he had a wicked red scar over his eye, “Alex and Ren… The two ‘Devil Dogs,` Huh?” The man snickered, looking over at Ren then back at Alex. “You’ve caused us a lot of problems these past few days. Destroying outposts and valuable supplies… You know, it’s…” His voice faded away as Ren began to doze off, his vision growing hazy. ‘Why is an American working with the enemy..? Did he betray his own country?’ He was suddenly awakened by the sound of a gun. He turned to look at the man who stood above them, holding a pistol pointed directly at Alex. 

He turned his head to face Al and saw nothing but blood covering the man’s face. Ren wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, but he couldn’t. He simply sat there in awe. Human life was precious and that was when Ren learned it was. _‘Alex… Why did you have to come up with such a shitty plan…’_ He turned back up to face the American man who was holstering his pistol and returning the stare, a massive smirk spreading across his face. 

“I’m sure you’re going to like my story…” He said simply, turning to look at the other men, then, speaking in a foreign language and nodding his head, Ren looked up to see the butt of a rifle come barreling towards his face.

He screamed and shot up, looking around to see white and black contemporary furniture. He heard a woman’s voice call out from the kitchen. 

“Ren?!” 

He turned and saw Makoto, standing in the doorway now, staring at him with a fearful expression on her face. 

_‘Damn flashbacks…’_ Ren said in his head as he sat up, rubbing his face, his fingers taking an extra second to follow the scar that was left on his face from the same day his nightmare took place. 

“Ren?!” She called out again, stepping into the room and quickly walking around the sofa, standing in front of him. “Was it a nightmare?” 

He sighed and removed his hands from his face. “More like a flashback.” He mumbled, looking away from her gaze. “It was too vivid to be called a nightmare.”

 _‘He kept yelling the name Al, I bet that was his friend in that photo… It’s safe to assume he was dreaming about Al’s death…’_ She got lost in thought, staring at him with an unfocused look on her face.

“It’s no big deal… I’ll just need a second.” He broke her train of thought.

“Right.” She said with a curt nod, rushing back to make sure she didn’t burn anything she was making. 

Ren huffed out a long sigh and shook his head. _‘If we had just retreated… I’m sure we’d both be alive right now, Al.’_

He stood up and rolled his shoulders, tilting his neck side to side, cracking his neck. He felt the few bills in his pocket and chuckled. _‘It’s either pity or she hasn’t changed much from when she was younger.’_ He scoffed at himself. _‘Stop thinking idiot, you’re just here to recover, don’t get so comfy.’_

He could smell food lingering from the kitchen and the sweet savory smell made him remember how hungry he was. He grinned and turned, walking out of the living room and entering the small kitchen. 

“The food is ready.” She said, pulling out a large pot out of the oven and setting it beside a crockpot that was already cooking.

“Sheesh… How long was I asleep?” He asked, rubbing the nape of his neck. 

“About four hours.” 

“P-Pardon?!” He asked, eyes wide.

She nodded with a small smile, turning to him. “Yeah. I didn’t want to disturb you.” She sighed, “But I probably should’ve woken you up sooner… You were groaning and tossing around in your sleep.” 

Her smile had always been contagious to him in the past. That was something that didn’t change in the eight years the two spent apart. A smile crept across his face as he shook his head. “It’s no worries.”

 _‘Something feels off… He’s acting too much like a softie compared to earlier.’_ She thought. “Hey, Ren?”

“Yes?” 

“What was your dream about? If you do not mind me asking…” She said, carrying the pot with small rags in both hands to prevent her from burning herself as she carried it across the room and towards the table of the dining room. 

He looked down at his feet and chuckled nervously. “It’s not exactly the best story for table talk.” 

She nodded, she knew not to pressure him too much or else he’d possibly snap and maybe he wouldn’t stop himself this time around. “Will you tell me later, then?” 

“If you’re still curious.” He said with a soft sigh. _‘I really hope she isn't.’_

“Fair enough.” She said, walking back to the kitchen, carrying the crock pot to the table as well, briskly coming back reaching up into a cupboard, pulling out a few bowls. She then reached down and pulled out a drawer, grabbing forks and finally taking a seat at the table.

Ren sat across from her and took a large whiff of the delicious smell that came out of the crockpot. “So, what did you make?” 

“I tried out an American dish since I felt like you’d feel a little homesick. It’s just a broth with shredded beef, carrots, some noodles, some celery, and onions. I heard it is quite delicious.” She said with an accomplished smile on her face as she opened the lid off of the pot. “Then, in here, we have porridge because of nostalgia.” She grinned, taking the large serving spoon, pouring herself the stew in one bowl, taking another bowl and giving herself some porridge. 

“Beef stew… heh.” He chuckled. He knew what the slang term meant, but he also knew how great the dish was. He waited for Makoto to serve herself then went on to serve himself to porridge and stew. “It’s an odd combination…” He said, before taking a large bite of a mixture of noodles, beef, and carrots. He quickly finished his bite and smiled. “I haven’t had anything this delicious in a while.” 

“Thank you very much.” She said with a small nod, taking much smaller nibbles compared to Ren who practically devoured both bowls of food. She couldn’t get mad at him or yell at him about his poor manners, the boy had just told her he’s been living off MRE’s for the past few months. 

Ren grabbed himself another bowl of stew, his eating slowed to a much more normal rate, rather than devouring his meal like a starving lion. 

“Ren?” He heard Makoto’s voice from across the table. 

He looked up, finishing his bite with a large gulp. “Yeah?” 

“How much are you going to get paid for helping with the police?” She asked, taking a quick nibble, swallowing it quickly to explain herself since it was a somewhat rude question to ask. “I-I just hope it’s good pay, for all the help you seem to be giving them…” 

He shrugged. “About twenty-thousand or so.” 

“Only twenty-thousand?!” She said much louder than intended.

He chuckled. “I took two bullets for five-thousand yen, ten-thousand is a fortune. Which reminds me.” He sighed, taking out his phone. “I need to handle this real quick, pardon me.” Ren stood up from the table, tapping a few buttons on his screen as he walked to the kitchen. 

Makoto was able to eavesdrop on Ren’s side of the conversation, listening in. She hated being so invading on others’ privacy, but she needed to know.

“Mrs. Argo?” 

“Yes. I was able to earn some pay, it isn’t much but it should keep you well off for one night.” 

“Right… It’s only four-thousand-five-hundred yen.” 

There was some silence until she finally heardRen speak back up “Mrs. Argo, it’s the least I can do. Your husband saved my life and I made him a promise.” 

“I know it isn’t much in American currency- Of course… I’m still working on finishing this current job and once it’s done you guys should be set off for a week or two, hopefully, you’ll be able to get back on your feet by then.” 

“No, Mrs. Argo… I need to do this. I made Alex a promise.”

 _‘Alex?! Is he speaking to his friend’s wife?’_ Her thoughts raced. Was he blackmailing her? Or was he possibly using her to receive funding from America? No, Ren wasn’t like that.

“Okay. Very well, I’ll deposit the money and send it over to you tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Goodbye.” 

She heard him hang up the phone with a small ‘ _beep boop.’_ Seeing his figure walk back into the room, a saddened expression on his face.

“Who was it?” 

“Just… a business partner is all.”

_‘Mmhm…’_

“That’s a lie.” She said, taking a small bite of beef. 

He raised an eyebrow. 

“I heard a bit of the conversation, her name is Mrs. Argo and she has relations with a man named Alex.” She pushed, hoping to get him to break. “It’s safe to assume that ‘Al’ and ‘Alex’ are the same person, correct?” 

Ren nodded, intertwining his fingers with each other, clasping his hands tightly shut. He raised them so his chin was resting on his knuckles, the weight of his head being supported by his elbows which were planted on either side of the bowl. 

“And… You were discussing money with her. Are you using her? Blackmailing her, perhaps?” 

He sighed and frowned. “No. I’m sending all of the money I make to her so she can care for her three children, Makoto.” 

Her eyes widened and her heart wrenched. _‘O-Oh god! I just assumed he was a criminal but he was doing something so charitable and kind! What the hell is wrong with me!? Just because he’s a mercenary doesn’t mean he’s a complete monster!’_ She stammered. “I-I-I am s-so sorry! I really d-didn’t know.” She buried her face in her hands, mumbling out another apology. 

Ren frowned and shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It’s perfectly safe to assume that I’d be doing such activities, being a mercenary and all.” He said, standing up once more from the table, finishing the last bite. He grabbed the bowl and walked to the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves to wash the dish. He set it on the countertop and walked into the living room, stripping off the jacket.

Makoto sat in silence as she sat there, simply staring at the empty bowl that sat in front of her. _‘What is wrong with me?! Why am I so against him? Is it because I like him and I’m just pretending to hate him?’_

She huffed out a long sigh and brought her bowls to the sink, resting them down on the countertop. She then returned to the dining room, running a few laps to bring the stew and porridge back to the kitchen. 

She walked out to the living room already fast asleep on her couch. She noticed his tie and black collared shirt were lying on the ground, alongside his socks and shoes. She focused back up at the boy who was sleeping peacefully, his shirtless body covered up by his jacket. _‘He’s using his own jacket as a makeshift blanket? He could’ve just asked for one.’_ She sighed, walking out of the living room and towards her bedroom, digging into the closet to pull out a fluffy blanket with a large panda imprinted on it. She returned to the living room where Ren was sleeping. She grabbed the jacket and gently lifted it off of him, tossing it into the pile of clothes. Makoto grinned as she replaced it with the blanket, watching him grab the edge of it and curl up against it, bringing it up to his neck.

She quickly took her phone out of her pocket and snapped a photo of Ren cuddling the buchimaru-kun blanket. She slipped her phone away and sat there, looking at the seemingly blissful mercenary. It would almost be impossible to tell he had ever seen any sort of combat from the photo alone, aside from the large scar over his eye, which was a dead giveaway. The sight of his scar made her heart feel like it was being weighed down by an anchor of sadness. This boy, who had already gone through so many troubles and pain in his life, further pushed himself into even more pain and danger, just because he wanted to help do what he thought was right. He even threw away all the money from his hard work to supply his deceased brother-in-arms’ family with food and a home. She wanted to help him, to be with him, to be there to support him as he did for so many others. But she knew he wouldn’t ever accept someone as mean as her, someone who accused him of so many wrong-doings when he was just doing what was right. She accepted she’d never had any chance with that merc, so instead, she compromised. _‘Maybe I can just give myself one final sense of satisfaction since I know I'll never meet his expectations from a woman... Besides, I bet he's already in contact with Ann, again.’_ She thought to herself, walking up to the sleeping boy and brushing a bit of hair off of his forehead, bending down and giving him a gentle kiss. _'That will be enough for me...'_ She gave a bittersweet smile down to him,

She wiped the smile from her face and mumbled quietly, her hands clasped together in front of her. “Goodnight, Ren… Have some sweet dreams, you deserve them.” She turned on her heel with a pink face and made off for her own room to get ready for bed.

Ren’s one good eye flickered open and he smirked. _‘She’s absolutely adorable…’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! Chapter 3! We finally get to see Ren begin to open up about himself, and Makoto even gets in on the action of letting her feelings be known to (whom she thought was asleep) Ren Amamiya. The first taste of Shumako! 
> 
> Also, much more inner dialogue in this chapter since I want to explore the thoughts of these two much more and how they can differentiate between what can be seen as the most 'justified' side (police officer) and someone who can be seen as a corrupt and cold-blooded killer, otherwise 'unjust' (mercenary).
> 
> I really like the contrast between the two roles, but I also love how I've been able to make Ren be a big ole softie, regardless of his rugged and scarred exterior. 
> 
> ANYWHO! THANK YOU GUYS FOR READING 
> 
> edit: fixed the currency issue cause my dumbass was doing the numbers in dollars but the currency was yen so it was only like, 5 bucks 
> 
> (pls follow my twitter because i post dumb shit and stupid rants and talk about berserk... A lot. @BoboMKI c:)


	4. The Hunter and the Hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto delves into Ren’s company website and meets with a fellow who happens to be from the same organization.

Makoto’s eyes fluttered open, her morning being greeted with the plain and dull ceiling. She huffed out a long sigh and sat up, tossing the blanket off of her. She ran her hands through her hair, brushing a few loose strands out of her hair. 

She swung her legs out of the bed, her feet meeting with the carpet as she hopped up to her feet. She walked over towards her closet, grabbing her police uniform: A pair of black slacks, a charcoal gray collared shirt with a lighter gray tie, finally topped off with a black coat fitted with small loops on both shoulders, a badge on her arm of three stars, signifying her rank. She walked to the table, grabbing the headband and slipping it onto her hair. She walked to the full-body mirror in the corner of her room, adjusting her tie and fixing her jacket. 

She nodded and turned on her heel, walking out of the hallway and into the living room, spotting Ren who was sitting down, his hands clinging tightly to his hair, his elbows resting on his knees, his face completely hidden from view.

“Ren?” She asked, approaching him with a hand out, reaching towards him.

He looked up, his eyes red and puffy. “Yeah?” He asked, coughing shortly afterwards.

“Were you having flashbacks again?” 

“Yeah. I didn’t get much sleep because of them, even though you wished me sweet dreams- Which, thank you for that.” He said, a shy smile spreading across her face.

What he had mentioned completely sailed over her head, she was too occupied by her own concern for him. “You can stay here and rest. I have to go to work.”

Ren shook his head and stood up with a groan of pain, his knee cracking. “No can do. I’ve got work, too.” 

“You can’t even get a break? You were just shot two days ago! Can’t you talk to your boss about it?!” She cried out, throwing her arms in the air.

“I’m my own boss and I’m saying that I must go do my job.” 

“No! You have to rest, Ren.” Makoto ordered, stepping directly in front of him. 

“I have to make money to pay you ba-“ 

“No! No repayment of any kind!” Makoto said, putting her hands on his shoulders and forcing him back down onto the couch, leaning over him. “You’re staying here and resting for another day before you can even consider going back out there!” 

Ren looked up at Makoto a growing frown on his face. “One, that hurts. Two, I need to make money for Mrs. Argo.” 

“I’ll pay Mrs. Argo, you are getting rest, mister. Am I understood?!” She said, removing her hands from his shoulders as her tone began to grow warm and kind compared to her previous sternness. “Now lie back down and try to get some sleep, please?”

“Fine. But only because you said please.” He groaned out, rolling his eyes as he flopped onto his side.

Makoto gave him a victorious smile and turned around, heading to the front door. She turned the doorknob and opened it, hearing Ren call out to her just one more time before she went off to work. 

“Next time, go all out and don’t just give me a little kiss on the forehead! I’m talking full on lip-to-lip action!” 

Her eyes widened and she shot through the door, slamming it shut behind her. _‘He… faked being asleep that jerk!’_

She sighed heavily, shaking her head as she walked through the door, heading down the elevator, beneath the lobby and into the garage section of the apartment complex, heading to her bike that was parked in the corner of the lot.

She approached it, slipping a helmet on, swinging her leg over the seat and sticking the key into the ignition, twisting it. The engine roared as she felt the bike purr against her legs and run up her hands, she couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Too bad you aren’t Johanna.” She whispered quietly before slowly pulling out and zooming out of the garage.

She rode slowly, taking in her surroundings as she did nearly every day she went to work, watching the same pedestrians walking around, following their normal day-to-day schedule. 

She pulled into the parking lot of the police department, slipping the key out of the ignition and taking off her helmet, fixing her headband and ruffling her hands in her hair in attempts to keep it from the frizzy mess it always became after wearing the helmet. 

She stepped off the bike and hung the helmet from a handlebar, walking towards the police department to spot a blonde man, wearing a matching uniform to hers. 

“Looks like you’re stuck in the place today, too?” Ryuji asked, pushing himself off the wall as she climbed the stairs. 

Makoto sighed and nodded. “Yep. I’ve got a lot of paperwork to get done because mercenaries don’t sign the papers, they just perform the arrests.” She said with a slight chuckle as she walked through the front door, Ryuji joining at her side.

“Oh yeah! What happened with Ren, do you know?” 

“He’s staying with me for the time being…” She said, looking aside, blush beginning to grow on her cheeks as she knew exactly how Ryuji would react.

Ryuji smirked and whistled the intro melody to Marvine Gaye’s _‘Let’s get it on,’_ giving her a suggestive stare.

Makoto wasn’t super familiar with American music, but she knew exactly what that song was. She smacked his arm with the back of her hand. “It’s not like that!” She said, puffing her cheeks out as she pouted. 

“So, why’s he hanging around your place?” 

“He doesn’t have one of his own, Ryuji.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’ve started to get him to sort of open up about his past… But I haven’t learned all that much, I only know that he had a friend who died and he’s currently funding said friend’s family.” She explained, approaching the front desk and giving the other officer sitting there a curt nod and a small smile. “All of his money goes there and the rest is probably on medical supplies because it looks like he’s been shot a lot.” 

“Oh-ho, so he wasn’t wearing a shirt either?” Ryuji asked, before immediately submitting to the Lieutenant’s grizzly stare. “Jokes aside, I gotta feel sorry for the guy… He’s not exactly viewed as a person whose respectable around here.” Ryuji said, gesturing to the building as a whole. 

“Just like Shujin.” She mumbled quietly.

“Huh?” Ryuji asked, turning his head back to face her.

“Nothing. Let’s just get to work now.” She said, turning left into a hallway as Ryuji continued straight. She walked down a longer and more narrow hallway, taking a left into a doorway which happened to be her office, as shown by the black and golden name plaque on the door. 

_Lieutenant Makoto Niijima_

She hated the flashiness of the plaque, but it was on every doorway so she always supposed it was normal to have. 

She shut the door behind her, walking to her desk and taking a seat, sliding her laptop in front of her. 

While Makoto did have some paperwork to fill out, it would only take twenty or so minutes and she could easily breeze through the case files, however, she was much more interested in something else. 

She opened her laptop and opened up the web browser, typing into the search engine.

_‘Devil Dogs’_

What she got wasn’t what she was looking for, each website pulling up images and information about how the nickname originated from the German army during the forties and how they nicknamed Marines ‘Teufel Hunde’ (Devil Dogs) 

She frowned and went back to the search engine.

_‘American Private Mercenary Corporations’_

Of course, American politicians never liked the term Mercenary, so instead they had rebranded the title to _‘Private Military Contractors’_

Which was the next thing she searched.

_‘Private Military Company; Devil Dogs’_

Bingo. 

She saw a web browser that was titled ‘ _Devil Dogs - Private Military Company.’_

Makoto quickly clicked on the link and it pulled up an American website, the full page a dark gray with gold lining and silver text, all in English.

_‘I suppose learning English in Shujin proved useful, afterall.’_ She hummed in joy as she began to explore.

She first went to the homepage, clicking on the tab that read **‘Description’** and quickly began to analyze the text.

_‘The Devil Dogs,_

_We are a private military company for hire, we have experts in espionage, warfare, reconnaissance, deception, and other security services. Our contractors are all individually skilled in hand-to-hand combat, all have learned and mastered the art of weaponry, and all contractors will complete their orders without question or hesitation. We made them that way.’_

She clicked on the next tab in the drop-down menu that was titled **‘Contractors and Staff’** which pulled up three smaller sub-sections.

**‘Training’**  
**‘HR’**  
**‘Contractors’**

She clicked on the training section, curious to see what was the process in America for grooming such fierce fighters. Or rather, how private military companies trained their mercs.

_‘Training._

_Training is rigorous and fierce, only the strongest both mentally and physically are able to make it through and are able to become contractors. They will undergo experiments where they must perform and operate under extreme stress. For a few examples, during training, agents must sit through an interrogation mock-up for nearly a week, where they will be waterboarded, beaten, threatened, mentally and psychologically abused, and will also get less than an hour of sleep throughout the entire week long mock interrogation. This is in order to provide the best, most hardened men and women, and security and in order to protect classified information._

_Each contractor will also go through strength training, condition training, and physiological training, in order to reach peak performance for all three categories. Time for sleep will be cut short in order for more training time._

_Each contractor will be trained in firearms, both assembly and disassembly, along with firing and aiming. Every contractor is expected to be able to maneuver and effectively complete their duty with any firearm given to them, regardless of country of origin or weapon model._

_Finally, every contractor is trained in multiple hand-to-hand combat forms and will master them throughout their careers. These fighting styles include Aikido, Karate, Jujitsu, Judo, Krav Maga, and Tae Kwon Do._

_This is why the contractors of the Devil Dogs are the best of the best.’_

Makoto stared blankly at the screen, her eyes slightly widened as her jaw unhinged and her lips slightly parted. _‘Ren… went through all of this!?’_ She bit her lip at the thought, sighing softly as she shook her head. _‘Stupid idiot always getting himself injured.’_

She couldn’t shake the thoughts from her head, imagining Ren being held down on a table, a wet rag over his face as masked men pour water all over the rag. It made her cringe and tense up, her fists curling into tight balls. _‘And that’s all that was listed. I could only imagine what wasn’t put in.’_

She decided to get off the page as fast as possible before she wasted anymore time, skipping the **‘HR’** tab and going directly to **‘Contractors’**

She looked at the page, which showed images of each of the contractors, only four of them appearing on the screen, a picture of their face, a small biography, age, skillset, and current status.

The first man was a large and burly blonde man with striking blue eyes, he held a large and arrogant smirk and Makoto could instantly tell that the man was well over six-foot-two and certainly was a formidable force. 

_‘Aaron Buchmeier, 27, Born in Detroit and raised in the streets. He grew up in an environment where it was survival of the fittest and strongest, and Aaron certainly won the placeholder for the strongest. Skills include expert hand-to-hand combat, exceptional security, intimidation. Current status: Working as lead bodyguard for a well-respected CEO.’_

The next was a man she thought she recognized, noticing his cheery grin and messy brunette hair. 

_‘Alexander Argo, 30, Born in the United Kingdom and raised in Long Beach California, Alexander was originally a part of the United States Marine Corps, until he was honorably discharged due to suffering injuries in Iraq, however, it never sated his urge to fight. Skills include expert marksmanship, recon scout, skilled with long-range rifles, exceptional espionage agent. Current Status: Missing.’_

She frowned and knew who it was. It was the same man that was posing next to Ren in his camera roll, it was also the same man whose family was being kept afloat thanks to Ren. 

She sighed and continued on to the next person, which was a woman who had a small scar on her left cheek, daring green eyes along with dark obsidian black hair. 

_‘Eloise Léon, 23, Born and raised in France, this woman was raised up from the high-society of the richest men in France, however, it’s clear that she was not fit for such luxuries as she disappeared to America and trained to become a contractor. Skills include espionage agent, well-performed in hand-to-hand combat, master of deception, exceptional with rifles. Current Status: -Classified-‘_

Makoto hummed in curiosity. _‘Considering her status is classified, she’s most likely undercover. It would make the most sense, afterall. However, if I could figure it out, as could anyone else, so maybe she wasn’t undercover._ Her thoughts were interrupted as she came across the last image.

She saw a photo of a younger man, who looked in his late teens, wearing pitch black sunglasses along with a full black suit and red tie. He had a smug smirk on his face and he had wild fluffy black hair. She knew exactly who it was, but the description on him piqued her curiosity most. 

_‘???? ‘Joker’ ??????, 20, Born and raised in Japan, Joker grew up a criminal delinquent who was exceptionally well at theft. Skills include masterful hand-to-hand combat, strong leadership skills, masterful espionage agent, deception, well-versed in all firearms, skilled driver, and cunning. Current Status: Missing’_

She raised an eyebrow. _’Missing?’_ She thought. That’s when she immediately checked the time of when the website was last updated, which was about six years ago. Which would explain why both Ren and Alex were classified as missing. 

_‘I wonder what‘s stopping them from updating… Possibly the disappearance of all of their mercenaries?’_ She asked herself, ready to continue her search until a knock was heard on her door. 

“Come in!” Makoto said, closing the tab.

The door clicked open and a large man stepped in. Makoto’s eyes widened as she realized just who he was, _’Aaron Buchmeier?!’_ She screamed mentally, but quickly assumed a poker face and gave him a nod. 

“Lieutenant Niijima.” The man said, a low and gruff voice escaping from the monstrous man’s vocal chords. 

“And to whom am I speaking to?” She asked, shutting her laptop and resting her hands on the table.

“The name’s Aaron.” He said simply. She could note that his Japanese was somewhat sloppy, he spoke slow and sometimes stumbled over himself a few times, but it clearly didn’t seem like he cared.

“And what can I do for you today, Aaron? Any complaints or something you’d like to report?” She asked, reaching to the corner of her desk to grab a notepad, opening her drawer and grabbing a pen, shutting the drawer, clicking the pen.

“I’m looking for someone.” He replied simply.

“Are they a missing person or are you simply new to Japan and they reside here?” 

“It’s for work.” He said as he crossed his arms and leaned back into the chair, his bright blue eyes piercing Makoto’s own crimson colored iris’.

“I see. Who is it you’re looking for?” She asked, ready to write down a name. 

“This man named ‘Joker.’ I’ve recently heard he’s been doing some work with the police here.” 

She froze for a second but quickly recovered, writing down the simple ‘Joker’ onto the notepad, clicking her pen. “I can’t say I have seen him anywhere, personally. Do you have any idea of his appearance?” 

“He wears sunglasses, has long-ish black hair, slimmer build, about six feet tall, and that’s all I got on ‘im.” 

She wrote clicked her pen once more, writing down the details on the notepad. “Would you like me to contact you once I find him?” 

Aaron gave her a nod and began to stand up.

“Before you go, may I ask what you intend on doing when you meet up with this ‘Joker?’” She asked, unable to contain her concern.

“Just handling a few loose ends.” He said before turning and leaving her office.

_‘Tying up loose ends?! Was he contracted to kill Ren?!’_ Her eyes widened as she looked out of the window to the street where cars continued to pass by. _’Does Ren even know!?’_

She sighed and rubbed her face.

_bi! bi! bi! bi!_

She looked over at her phone, picking it up and seeing a text from Ren.

**Joker:** I’m assuming you just got done talking with a man named Aaron Buchmeier? 

**Makoto:** How did you know that?

**Joker:** That’s not of your concern, nor do we have time for me to explain.

_Joker is typing…_

**Joker:** You didn’t tell him of my location or that you had any relation to me, did you?

**Makoto:** Of course not. I knew he worked in the same company as you, so I was certainly skeptical he just wanted to ‘catch up.’ 

**Joker:** Guess you found the website. 

**Makoto:** Did you really go through that week long torture simulation? 

**Joker:** If you’re curious, I’ll tell you later. For now I need to know you’re safe.

_Joker is typing…_

**Joker:** What was your conversation with him? 

**Makoto:** I simply asked him who he was looking for, why, and that I’ll let him know when I find ‘Joker.’ 

**Joker:** Make sure he doesn’t figure out about you having any relation to me.

**Makoto:** What the hell is happening, Ren? 

**Joker:** Devil Dogs are gone, but he’s still here and I’m assuming he wasn’t hired to come here. He came here on his own whim.

**Makoto:** He wasn’t hired to assassinate you?

**Joker:** Most likely not, he’s probably here because he thinks I murdered Al.

**Makoto:** Then I can do something about it.

**Joker:** Where’s your evidence that he plans on killing me? 

_‘He’s right.’_ She thought, before sending a text back.

**Makoto:** So, what do you want me to do? 

**Joker:** I’ve already left your apartment and erased all traces of me being there, including security camera footage. I’m going to go off the grid, but I’ll be sure to stay in contact with you. 

**Makoto:** I can’t stop you, now can I? Also, how did you get that footage?

**Joker:** Take a guess.

**Makoto:** Futaba?

**Joker:** Bingo.

_‘So, they still work together, huh?’_ She thought, smiling slightly. Those two were just like siblings, hell, both of their father figures was Sojiro Sakura.

**Joker:** Delete this conversation from your phone immediately afterwards. However, remember this. If you ever receive any message claiming to be from Joker from now on, it is no longer me. 

**Makoto:** You think he’s going to try and use your name?

**Joker:** Precisely. You’ll only be contacted by me as ‘Ren.’ 

**Makoto:** You say that like it’s your codename.

**Joker:** For now, it is. Aaron doesn’t know my real name.

Makoto took a deep breath and set her phone down, rubbing her temples before picking her phone back up and typing.

**Makoto:** Could you at least tell me where you’re going to disappear off to? 

_Joker is now offline_

She huffed a long sigh and scoffed. “This is a bit of a predicament…” Makoto grumbled as she pulled out her paperwork and began to get to work.

Meanwhile, Ren shut off his phone and stuffed it into his pocket. He fixed his jacket and began walking down the street. _‘I’m being hunted?’_ He thought to himself as he paced down the street, his hands in his pockets as he leaned his weight forward, slouching his back slightly. He slipped on his pair of sunglasses and straightened his back, kicking himself into Joker mode. _‘No… I’m hunting you, Aaron.’_ He gritted his teeth, setting out to begin laying his trap. 

First, he walked directly out of the police department, approaching the front door and entering the building. A few of the officers who were standing the lobby all stopped their conversations and stared at him. He ignored their stares and walked past the receptionist desk, taking a left into the long hallway, spotting the large blond and bulky man. 

Joker smirked as he took a look at him. “Aaron?” 

The man turned and looked at him, unable to hide the surprise. “That was fast…” The man muttered quietly. “Joker, huh?” 

Joker gave him a curt nod, the same smirk on his face. 

Aaron began to approach him, his fists clenched tightly. _‘Time to get this job done.’_ He said consciously, a smirk spreading across his face as he stood just a few feet from Joker. 

“You’re sure you want to do that, Buchmeier?” Joker asked, his eyebrows raised slightly, the wrinkles in his forehead showing off the curious cocked eyebrow he held. 

“You murdered Alex. I’m fairly certain I want to do this.” He said, raising a fist. 

“Punch me and you’ll have me and about six police officers on your ass. I don’t recommend taking on a fight you can’t win.” Joker turned on his heel, beginning to walk away from the man. “That’s what Al always said.” He said in attempts to provoke the man.

“Don’t you dare say that name!” Aaron growled, following in short pursuit of him. 

“I knew him better than you ever did, Aaron. I’m fairly certain I’m allowed to say his name.” Joker said, a wicked smile on his face as he turned around and faced the man. 

“You murdered him, Joker. I know you did… You don’t even feel the slightest bit guilty, do you?!” Aaron asked, his voice beginning to pick up.

Joker knew he was playing his cards right, but it still hurt to keep his poker face. He hated having to use his best friend as a method, but knowing Alex, he’d probably be proud of Ren for being so clever. “No. I do not.” Joker said. “But if you want to settle this, then I recommend we don’t do it in the police station. I wouldn’t want our fight to be disturbed, old friend.” 

“I’m not your friend. I’m better than you, I’m not a dog who kills my own allies for some cash.” 

“Oh? But what are you doing now?” 

“Exacting revenge.” Aaron said with a smirk. 

“That’s just what I love to hear.” Joker said with a small nod, turning on his heel and exiting that narrow hallway, just about to exit into the lobby, he turned and called out to Aaron. “Ten P.M, two days from today, I’ll meet you at the abandoned steel warehouse.” 

Aaron gave him a puzzled look and cocked an eyebrow. “Two days?” 

“I’ve got work to do, Aaron. I’m simply fitting you into my schedule.” He said, turning and heading out of the police department.

Aaron hummed and turned, walking back into Makoto’s office.

She looked up from the paperwork and saw him. “Oh? Back so soon?” She asked, setting the pen down on top of the small pile of paperwork she had.

“I found Joker, no need to conduct any search.” Aaron said, shutting the door and exiting the building. 

Makoto stopped and looked around the room. _‘God this boy gets in so many messes.’_

The rest of the evening was uneventful, Ren practically vanished once more, (apparently he was very good at covering his tracks), Makoto was able to get home with no further complications with this ‘Aaron’ fellow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! There may or may not be a short four or five day hiatus until next chapter since I’m off for S. Carolina for vacation, but I’m also almost finished with chapter five so possibly expect that within that time frame.
> 
> Once again, thank you all very much for reading, I love you all very much and happy late father’s day.


	5. Defender of Justice... (and a merc’s heart)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some quality bro-bonding time between Ryuji and Ren where Ryuji finally tells Ren to man up and confess.

Ren sighed a heavy sigh as he shuddered due to the cold morning air. He could tell it was going to soon begin to snow by the grey hazy clouds and the rapidly dropping temperature. 

He scoffed and sat up, looking around at the two buildings that were behind him, their plain dull brick structures were all but pleasing to the eyes. He groaned as. He stood up, “I already miss the couch.” He muttered to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. 

He walked out of the alleyway, brushing off the dust and dirt off of his coat, at least to the best of his abilities. His shoulder had begun to heal, however, it was still very sore whenever he rotated it. 

_So, Ren… What’s the plan today?_ He asked himself consciously, looking around. _I need to get Mrs. Argo money so they can eat... Keep Aaron away from Makoto and Ryuji... and don’t die- Sounds good._ He thought with a chuckle. 

He turned the corner and walked through the street, hands in pockets, head down, sunglasses covering his eyes. He hummed quietly to himself as he began to make for the police department.

He approached the building, climbing up the front set of stairs and opening the front door, stepping in. 

After walking past a few guards, who exchanged a few unsavory glances and ignoring a few comments on why the hell his clothes were so dirty, he cut left into the long hallway, heading for the commissioner’s office.

Makoto was in her office, filing down police reports and complaints of minor misdemeanors being carried out through the districts. This was the one part of her job she didn’t like, the abundant amount of paperwork.

She noticed a shadow-like figure briskly walk past her doorway. She jumped slightly, noticing the man’s glasses and red tie. _Ren’s here? Why?_

He sighed and approached the door that said **‘Commissioner Shinichi’** and knocked twice, opening it and walking in.

Shinichi looked up from his paperwork, “Come i-“ Immediately his face fell into a frown, seeing who it was. “It’s you.” He said, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

Ren gave him a neutral stare, his sunglasses giving the commissioner a perfect reflection of himself. “I need a job. One that’ll pay.” 

Shinichi raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. “Well.” He hummed. “How good are you at training recruits?” 

“What do you want to teach them?” Ren asked, crossing his arms. 

“How to assemble and disassemble their pistols.” 

“That’s all?” 

Shinichi gave Ren a curt nod, turning back to his paperwork. “You’ll find them at the end of the main hall, take a right and there will be the firing range where they’ll already be training under officer Sakamoto.” 

“How much will I be paid?” 

“Five-thousand yen for five hours of work.” 

Ren nodded and disappeared out of the room, walking back down the hallway as he went on for the main hall, which was just beyond the front room. He walked through it, ignoring even more stares and murmurs, taking a right into a smaller and more narrow hallway that lead to a door with a sign above it.

**‘Firing Range’**

He opened the door and walked through, seeing seven heads turn to face him, an eighth joining them shortly after. 

“Joker?!” Cried out the blonde man who was showing the class the anatomy of their firearm. He set the pistol down and walked past the crowd, pulling Ren into a quick hug and releasing him shortly. “You look like shit, but what brings you here?” 

“Just coming to help train the recruits, Ryuji.” He responded, his face still cold and held in a neutral position, as badly as he wanted to smile. However, his urge to smile was quickly wiped away as he heard the cadets begin to speak.

_“Officer Sakamoto knows that guy?!”_

_“I heard he’s a mercenary working for the police…”_

_“What a weirdo, why the hell is he even wearing sunglasses inside?”_

Ryuji turned around, immediately hushing the whispers. “Listen to you all, this is Joker! He’s here to help us train today!” Ryuji gestured to Ren with a cheery grin. 

Even more whispers arose.

_“What!? Why do we need to receive training from this guy?”_

_“He is a mercenary for a reason. Idiot.”_

Joker bowed his head and quickly raised it. “I’m Joker. A pleasure to meet you all.” 

The group of recruits exchanged a look of confusion amongst each other, then all said their own greetings back to him in a messy unison. 

Ryuji walked past the group, returning to the pistol he was carrying, picking it up and holding it out with both hands for the rookies to look at. “This is your standard SCK/Minebea Nine-Millimeter Pistol… It’s of Swiss origin but we use it here in Japan due to it’s lightweight and durability… It’s also among the SIG Sauer P-Two-Two-Zero line, making it amongst the most popular of weapons.” 

Needless to say, Ren was impressed with Ryuji. He crossed his arms and couldn’t help but grin as he heard Ryuji nerd out over something. Sure, it was a weapon which seemed right in Ryuji’s realm, but it was still weird to see Ryuji hold so much knowledge. Eight years ago, it’d be unfathomable to Ren.

“We’re going to take this bad boy apart and then we’ll reconstruct it, then do live firing training. However, you’ll be left on your own with disassembling it and reassembling it, so pay attention.”

And Ryuji began barking out the instructions and order of how to disassemble the weapon, then how to reassemble it. After he was finished with the lecture, he began to discuss the history and the basic fundamentals of the pistol, even going into depth of how the pistol’s system works. It was clear to Ren that Ryuji was the weapons expert of the police force. 

“Alright greenies. Go to your stations and disassemble and reassemble your weapons. Ask Joker if you’re in need of help, or another one of your peers if they are finished.” The group of men and women all gave him a nod, heading to their individual shooting booths where the pistol lied.

Ryuji approached Ren, brushing his hands off on his pants after dealing with the pistol. “How’re you doing, buddy?” He asked, grinning.

“It’s been good lately. However, I hate to say I’ve got another contractor hunting me down.” Ren said, leaning back on a table, Ryuji hopping up beside him, sitting down on the desk.

“For real!?” He said in a hushed whisper-yell. 

Ren nodded.

“I’m assuming it was that big blonde dude that came in yesterday…” He added.

Ren nodded again. “That’s the guy.” 

“Well. Knowing you, Joker, you’ll probably kick his ass.” Ryuji said with a smirk, elbowing Ren’s arm. “I also heard you were staying with Makoto! So, you think you game for a girl like her?” 

Joker’s eye widened as he turned to the blonde man. “W-What?”

“Yeah, dude! She told me you were staying with her.”

“Okay, make sure no one else knows. It’s for her own safety, got it? I can’t have that blonde asshole holding her hostage.” 

Ryuji held up his hands, lazily putting them back down afterward. “Hey man, when’s the last time I’ve spilled a secret?” 

“That’s the only reason we even know Makoto, ding-dong.” 

“Oh… Right.” Ryuji said with a small chuckle. “But you still never answered my question, would you go out with Makoto?” He asked, that smirk spreading across his face once more.

Ren shrugged. “I’d love to, but does Makoto really deserve to get stuck with a person like me?” He asked, gesturing to himself. “I disappeared for eight years and I’m now a fucked in the mind contract-killer.” 

“Dude, are you insane?” 

“Probably.” He muttered quietly.

“You’re one-hundred percent worthy for Makoto, dude. I know why you turned yourself in and disappeared, I know it was to protect us. You’re the most selfless guy I know, sometimes to the point where it’s a problem. Not to mention you helped me mend things with my track team, you helped Yusuke capture the perfect piece, you helped Sojiro win complete custody over Futaba and nearly took another assault charge just to protect her. So if you don’t quit doubting yourself, I will smack you. Love yourself, dude...” He paused, smiling proudly of his rather well-done pep talk. “Love yourself so you can allow others to love you, like Makoto.”

Ren couldn’t help but smile. “After I deal with Aaron, I guess I’ll give it a shot.” 

Ryuji grinned and put his hand on Ren’s shoulder. “That's the Ren I know.” 

Ren immediately noticed the ring on Ryuji’s finger, he raised a brow and focused his stare back on Ryuji. “Who is the lucky gal?” 

“Ann Takamaki!” He said with a chuckle.

“No way! You and Ann finally hooked up with another?” 

“What do you mean by finally!?” Ryuji asked, crossing his arms. “And yeah, it was about a few months after you left.” 

“You guys were seriously meant to be, at least that’s what I found during our little group.” 

“Well. I’m glad you’re an avid supporter.” Ryuji said, stretching his arms above his head. 

“Officer Sakamoto!” One of the cadets called out. “I’ve finished!” 

Ryuji hopped off of the desk, walking towards the woman in the last booth who was standing with a proud smile.

Ryuji picked up the gun and pulled the hammer slightly back, letting it ease back down. He ejected the magazine and pushed it back in, then he finally cocked it and set it back down. “Good work.” He said, setting it down. 

Soon after that, the other six cadets began to catch up to her, all crying out that they ‘finally’ finished, which Ren thought was right since it took them around thirty minutes to barely disassemble a SIG Sauer. 

One of the taller and larger cadets gestured to Joker, “You told us to ask him for help, right?” 

Ryuji nodded. “Yes, I did.” 

“How do you even know he can take apart this pistol?” 

Before Ryuji could speak up, Ren cut in. “Do you need me to prove to you?” 

The man turned to him, a challenging smile on his face. “Give it your best shot.” 

Ren pushed himself off of the table, walking past the man to the same booth he was using just prior. Ren picked up the pistol and analyzed it. “Hey, Ryuji. You got a stopwatch?” 

Ryuji dug into his pocket and pulled one out. “Yeah, why?” 

“I’m going to try and break my previous record, tell me when to start.”

“Alright, uhm, three, two, one, go!” Ryuji yelled out, pressing the start button.

Ren immediately got to work, hastily pulling apart the weapon, in just fifteen seconds he had already disassembled it and he got it reassembled even faster. He finished jamming the magazine in, cocked the pistol and put it back down on the metal table in front of him. 

Ryuji’s eyes widened and his jaw fell. “Twenty-three point eight seconds!?” 

Ren frowned. “Point four seconds off.” He mumbled 

The man grumbled under his breath. “Guess it’s expected, considering you kill for a living.” 

Ren turned to the man, a smirk on his face. “You have no idea.” He said, reaching up and patting the man on the shoulder. 

Ryuji clapped his hands once, “Anyways! Live fire training.” 

Ren sighed and his head fell back in annoyance as he heard a few of the trainees cheer. 

_Only three more hours…_

After three hours of questions, comments, and lots of gunfire. The training session was finally over. Ren sighed in relief as the rest of the trainees left. “See-ya, Ren!” Ryuji said, walking off and out of the room.

Ren nodded and waved bye to Ryuji as he left. 

He and Alex are exactly alike.

The reminder of Alex mad Ren’s heart ache. He took a deep breath and huffed out a long exhale as he took off the sunglasses, resting them on the table. Ren ran his hand across his scarred eye, his hand starting to shake. “It should’ve been me, Alex.” He said aloud. “I should’ve died dammit! I’m the one who's a loner, anyway.”

“Who are you talking to?” He heard a familiar voice behind him 

He turned around and could see a figure of a woman standing at the doorway. She reached an arm in and flipped the light switch, lighting the whole firing range in a bright white glow. 

_Her timing is always perfect._

“Hey, Makoto.” He mumbled out, walking over to the wooden table and hopping up on it, taking a seat. 

She stepped into the room. “I thought I saw you walking around earlier.” She shut the door behind her, walking towards Ren. 

“Yeah.”

“Did you at least get paid, yet?” 

Ren shook his head.

Makoto sighed and joined Ren’s side, sitting on the table beside him. “Do you have a place to sleep?”

Ren shook his head.

“Have you had anything to eat today?”

Ren bit his lip and shook his head, his body began to tremble as his lower lip began to shake.

“Do you have an-“

Ren hopped off of the table and quickly turned, wrapping his arms around Makoto’s waist, burying the side of his head underneath her chin, dead silent. 

Makoto could feel a single teardrop against her neck, which was followed by a steady number of other droplets. “R-Ren?” Makoto asked, her arms held out wide as she looked down at the now sobbing man who clung onto her. She could feel his rapid breathing against her, along with his frizzy black locks press against her neck. 

“Makoto…” Was all Ren could muster up to say. He took a deep breath and clung to her tighter.

The sheer despair in Ren’s voice immediately prompted Makoto to push her hands into his hair, gently massaging his scalp. “Ren, what’s wrong?” 

The silence that had followed was suspenseful, however, Makoto wouldn’t rush him in the slightest. She took a deep breath and continued to play with his hair, in an attempt to calm him.

“I’m scared…” He finally mumbled out.

Makoto’s brow raised. “Of Aaron?” 

She could feel Ren’s head shake against her chest. “Then what are you afraid of?” She asked. 

“I...“ He stopped himself. _Dammit, just say it, Ren! Remember what Ryuji told you! You’ve got this!_

He took a deep inhale.

“Makoto, am I a good person?” 

Makoto shut her eyes and smiled. “Yes, I’d say you’re a good person who made a very long-lasting mistake.” 

“I-I can’t….” He mumbled.

“What can’t you?” She asked.

“It can’t be me…” 

“Ren, what are you saying?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ren looked up at her. “I’m not good enough for you. You’re too kind to me, you’re too friendly, even after eight years, you took me in; I don’t deserve to have you in my life and you surely deserve a better friend than me.” 

Makoto fell silent as she stared into the gleaming pool that was Ren’s eye. She didn’t exactly know how he felt about her but she knew just how she felt about this boy and to see him this defenseless must’ve meant he had trusted her.

”Hey, Ren?” 

“Y-Yeah?” He said, nuzzling himself into the nook of her neck.

“Stop talking like that before I smack you… We both know you’re wrong when you say that kind of stuff.” She said, grinning as she heard a quiet and muffled chuckle. “My lame jokes aside, I-I’m still mad at you for not even saying goodbye, but-“

“I did it to protect you guys.” He mumbled.

“I know you did. That’s why I wanted to protect you. I saw you on that bench a-and it made me remember that day you came back from the interrogation room.” 

“So, was that little goodnight smooch just to protect me?” He asked, no hint of teasing in his voice, instead it was almost sad.

Her face reddened as she looks aside, her hands stopping their massage. “I-I lost myself in my emotions when I saw you, I’m really s-sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

Ren’s voice was as small as a mouse. “N-No. It was comforting, actually.” He mumbled, snuggling himself further into her. 

Her eyebrows raised

_He really doesn’t find it weird?_

There was no talking for quite some time, the two of them in a tight embrace had spoken all of the words they needed to say for the time being. Finally, after a long silence, Ren broke it.

“Hey, Makoto?” 

“Yes, Ren?” 

_Would you like to go out on a date, sometime?_

“We should, uhm, head back.” 

“That wasn’t what you were going to say.” She said, watching him pull back from her, just far enough that her wrists were now resting on his shoulders, her fingers barely locking behind the nape of his neck. 

He let out a small and short exhale through his nose in place of a laugh. “How’d you know?”

“Are you forgetting I’m a police lieutenant and the sister of a prosecutor?” She said, watching Ren’s lips curl up into a smile.

“Touché.” 

“Anyways, say what you were going to say.” She said, looking at him with a stare that showed both her curiosity and intensity.

“If you insist…” Ren huffed out, taking a deep breath. “Look, I know I disappeared for eight years, but my feelings for you never disappeared. I desperately missed you, most of all people… I was ashamed for leaving as I did and I was always waiting for what I felt was the right time to come back, but that moment never came. So I decided to move past my guilt and shame and return, only to be greeted a month later by your kindness when I was expecting nothing but hatred.” He took a deep breath. “I understand why if you don’t, but if it isn’t too much to wish for, I’d like for us to be together.”

Makoto fell silent, staring directly into Ren’s eye. “Ren. You never have to feel ashamed for doing what you thought was right…” She said, pulling one of her hands from his shoulder and cupping his cheek. “And I don’t think you’re wishing for too much… I’d like for us to be together, too.” 

A sudden burst of light and glee flashed in Ren’s eye, a large and toothy smile spreading across his face, something Makoto hasn’t seen in eight years, it nearly made her tear up to see Ren in such happiness. However, the smile quickly faded as he began voicing his concerns “D-Do you really want too? I mean I’m all messed up in the head, My body is scarred, I have nightmares, I-I’ve ki-“ 

“Ren!” She interrupted, holding the sides of his head in her hands, shaking it slightly to get him to look directly at her. “You’re still Ren Amamiya and I know you’ve changed, however, that doesn’t mean my feelings for you haven’t, do you understand me?” 

Ren nodded.

“And please, don’t feel self-conscious about your scars near me in the future, okay?” One of her hands slid onto his cheek, her thumb rising up the scar that went over his eye and up past his brow. 

Ren winced and nearly ripped himself away from her as he felt her thumb to trace the scar. He took a deep breath and eased into her touch, which he found was much more comforting than fighting against said touch. 

“Now… You’re coming back home with me because I can’t allow you to continue your spiral.”

“But Aar-“ 

“No buts, Ren. You’ve been protecting me for almost nine years. Let me protect you.”

“I’ve never needed protection, I don’t need to protect myself from anyone. I just need to keep you safe, that’s all that matters. ” He said, his hands grabbing onto both of her wrists, holding onto them loosely.

“Ren.” 

“What?” He asked, looking her intently in the eyes and receiving the same intense stare from Makoto.

“How many times have you been shot in the past six years, working as a mercenary?” 

“I would say sixteen to seventeen.” He mumbled.

“And whose fault were those wounds?” Makoto asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Usually mine but-“ 

She removed a hand from his face, putting a finger to his lips. “Exactly, Ren. Sure, your enemies may not always be of your caliber, but the human brain is fragile and I don’t want you to lose what’s most important to you. You deserve better than to be a contractor. You’re stronger and better than that, which is why I’ll be protecting you and helping you find a better suited path for you. You helped me find my dream eight years ago, allow me to do the same... Alright?” 

Ren looked aside, unknowing of a response to her. He half-expected a victorious smirk on her face when he turned to face her, however, he was met with a concerned stare and her intense and fiery glare. He huffed out and looked aside again. “Fine. I’ll head back to your home with you.” 

“We’re together right?” 

He was slightly bewildered by her sudden question, his eyebrows rising slightly. “Y-Yeah? I think so, at least.” 

“And you’ve nowhere to go?” 

He shook his head. “No… But where are you going with this?” 

“Then, it’s our home now.” She said as both of her cheeks began to glow. 

Ren cracked into a small smile. “The you eight years ago would’ve never been able to say that without stuttering.” 

“Hearing and helping people’s complaints and problems has certainly helped my social skills.” 

“It’s a shame, I always loved making you all flustered. You look adorable when you get all red in your face.” He said, his signature smirk making its way onto Ren’s face.

Her face went dark red and she removed her hands from his hair and face, returning them to her sides. “You can change emotions on a dime.” 

“I’m not a very emotional person.” He said with a slight chuckle, accompanied by a shrug.

She couldn’t help but squish his cheek. “Incorrect.” 

“W-What do you mean by that!?” He asked, but Makoto already hopped off of the table and began heading for the door.

Makoto didn’t respond, walking away with a smirk on her face. “Just because we’re living together now, doesn’t exactly mean you can’t get locked out!” She stopped at the doorway, turning towards him. “So hurry up, I’ve finished my hours for today and I really want to get out of this uniform.” 

Ren groaned as he ran and caught up with her, smirking at her last sentence. “What do you mean exactly by ‘get out of this uniform’?” He asked in a seductive whisper as they walked out of the front room and down the stairs towards the parking lot, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

“Don’t misinterpret me!” She groaned out, looking away from him, only so he didn’t receive the satisfaction of seeing her pouty face so soon. 

He chuckled and removed his arms as the two approached the motorcycle. “Apologies, _Queen._ ” 

He bit her lip and shook her head slightly. “You make me want to punch you.” 

“Think it’ll land?” 

She grabbed her helmet and turned to him. “I’m sure I know of weakness or two of yours.” She said, sliding the helmet over her face, muffling her next sentence. “It isn’t meant for two riders but I’m sure you can hop on the back until we get back to the place.” 

Ren sighed and shrugged. 

_It ain’t no Johanna but still a badass bike._

He climbed up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she started the engine and veered off, heading directly for the apartment complex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to be returning from S. Carolina the day I am posting this and I just want to say this chapter may not be my best, I wasn’t exactly hyper-focused like usual, but I do hope I was able to portray Ren in a weaker light than the majority of times where Makoto is the one who is vulnerable (not that it’s a bad thing, I just personally like spicing it up a bit, y’know?) 
> 
> I’m not sure yet how I feel about this confession, it feels sorta forced but I also just sort of let it flow so it may not? But one thing I do know I have to work on is pacing. I can imagine that I’m either  
> A. Boring you all to death  
> B. Smashing you with way too much information and cramming ‘sob stories’ down all of your throats. Sorry ‘bout that.  
> Anywho, all other criticism is very very very appreciated. 
> 
> I love you all very much and I thank you all for reading. <3


	6. Remember the Past, Fear the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren explains his past to Makoto, only to be followed up by a nightmare about his upcoming brawl with Aaron Buchmeier, his ex-ally.

Makoto jammed the key into the door’s handle, twisting the key until she heard a quiet click. She swung the door open and turned to Ren, nodding her head for him to enter. 

“Isn’t it supposed to be ladies first?” He asked, raising a brow.

She cracked a smirk. “It is. That’s why I’m making you go first.” 

Ren huffed out and shook his head, smiling as he walked past her. “Thank you, King Makoto.” He teased out, sliding the glasses off of his face as he entered.

“It’s still Queen to you.” She said, following after him and locking the door behind her. 

Ren yawned and shrugged off his coat, hanging it up on the coat hanger. 

Makoto looked over at his dusty jacket, turning back to face him. “Why is it every time I find you, you’re always dirty or bleeding?” 

“Streets aren’t very forgiving.” He replied simply. “Would you mind if I used your shower, again?” 

Makoto nodded with a small grin, humming in approval. 

Ren turned and gave her a nod, walking off into the hallway and disappearing into the bathroom.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, walking towards her room, opening her closet and grabbing a loose tank top and a pair of red and black checkered pajama bottoms.

She returned to the living room and sat down on the couch, reaching to the coffee table and grabbing the television remote, flicking it on. She flipped through channel to channel until a familiar cartoon came on.

“No way… It still airs?!” She mumbled, seeing the cartoon panda bears dance on the screen. 

“Still into Buchimaru-kun, huh?” She heard his voice call out from behind.

“Agh! You didn’t see that!” She cried out as she fumbled the remote, attempting to change the channel, instead, she simply shut the TV off.

Ren couldn’t help but laugh as he approached her, wearing his black slacks and his wrinkly white collared shirt. “I did see that.” He said, walking up behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders. “And I still find it adorable.” 

She sighed and looked down, attempting to hide her tomato red face. “A-Adorable?” She asked as she felt the hands disappear from her shoulders.

“Yes, adorable.” He said with a grin, looping around the couch and plopping down beside her.

“W-Well, thank you...” She mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

After a few moments of silence, Makoto suddenly remembered something she's been wanting to know for a while. “Uhm… Ren?” She asked, bringing her head back up to look at him.

“Yes?” 

“Would you mind telling me about your time as a mercenary in Afghanistan?” 

Ren went quiet and turned his head away, rubbing his hands together before turning back to face Makoto. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear about any of it-“ 

“No. I really do.” 

“It’s boring-“

“Ren.”

“It’s an unhappy story.” 

“Ren?” 

His hands clasped together, his knuckles beginning to grow white as he began to spiral down. “It’s violent and terrible…” 

“Ren!” 

He stopped his mumbling and blinked a few times, returning his stare back to her. “Are you sure you want to hear it?” 

She nodded.

“Well. Like I said, it’s boring and repetitive.” 

Makoto chose her next words carefully. “C-Can you tell me about how you got the scar?” 

Ren fell silent once more and took a deep breath before beginning. “Well… I was on an operation to infiltrate this massive cave system that was being used as a prison, however, what seemed like an easy infiltration, the enemies were expecting us and-“ 

“So you weren’t alone?” She asked, scooting a bit closer to him as she began to become enveloped in his story. 

“No.” He paused. “It was Alex and I.” 

“Oh- I’m sorry for interrupting, please continue.” 

“Right, uhm, where was I..? Ah, yes. Well, they were expecting us and we were ambushed. We had to retreat then we were stuck behind a boulder taking cover from heavy-machine gun fire… Alex formed a stupid, stupid plan that ended up in me getting shot twice, that led to him having to carry my fatass about a hundred yards until he was shot, but in typical” He cleared his throat, putting on his best redneck American accent. “‘Murican-“ He then reverted back to his original voice on a dime. “-Fashion, he kept going and dragging me until he finally collapsed.

“Then, the leader or one of the commanders or whatever of said prison had found us, he was also an American mercenary it seemed. Anyways- He stomped on my chest then said some things I couldn’t remember exactly what it was… But I remember turning to see the man holding a gun to Al’s head and then firing. His blood blocked most of my vision and then I was smacked with a buttstuck of a Kalashnikov.”

She was shocked by how quickly he passed by the death of his best friend, but then she just as quickly realized that he was practically riffing and probably trying to get through his story as fast as possible. It hurt her heart that she made him talk about it, but she felt like she needed to know, hopefully it’d help her help him in the future. 

“Next thing I know, I wake up in this prison tied to a chair and that mercenary guy was there with a large commando knife- Oh, have you seen The Dark Knight Rises?” 

His sudden question broke her immersion, while it was a very dark and grim story that hurt her heart just hearing how Ren went through it, she was very invested and gave it her wholest attention. “I-I believe so… With Batman?” 

Ren smiled and nodded. “Yes… With Batman.”

“Well- This asshole with the knife completely ripped off the Joker and began giving me the classic _‘you wanna know how I got these scars?’_ speech, he even talked about his mother and father arguing and the kitchen knife! Anyways! He does his whole spiel and well… What you see across my face is exactly what he did with that knife.” He muttered quietly, his tone dying down to a cold and grim one. “We were matching twins for a while… Until I beat him to death during a prison break.” 

Makoto looked at him in an awe filled silence, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. However, she quickly recovered herself from the rude stare and sighed, resting her hand on his clasped two. “I’m sorry, Ren.” 

“Don’t be. You couldn’t stop it.” 

“Still- For you to save so many lives… To help all the powerless, even though they thought you were some troubled delinquent, that’s what happens? Absolutely terrible!” 

“Like I said. It isn’t your fault… I’ve learned to live with myself and this scar, but it was my fault _he_ died.” 

“That’s not true, Ren and you know it isn’t.” She said, pressing up beside him and leaning towards him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “But I just want you to remember, you can talk to me about anything you need to. I want to be here for you.” 

“Thank you, Makoto.” He said, turning his head to face her, giving her a shy smile. “Anymore questions?” 

She put a knuckle to her chin as she sat in silence for a few seconds. Her eyes lighting up as she thought of the next question. “How was America? And where did you spend most of your time there?” 

“Hoo boy,” He said with a chuckle. “I don’t even know where to start…” 

She slid closer to him, closing the distance between them both as she rested her head on his shoulder. “From the beginning. We’ve got all night.” 

Ren grinned and nodded, wrapping his arm around her, helping her snuggle against him in attempts to find a comfortable position. He then began his story. He talked about how he had gotten to America, what he did for his first two years since he arrived (which was traveling across the northeast coast trying all sorts of coffee), then how he had made friends with Al in one coffee shop in New York City. That was where he learned about the Devil Dogs and that was when he joined. He began talking about his time in training for the Devil Dogs, which was just as horrendous as the website stated, then his own personal training time, then he could recall every single operation and the name of each in all six years of his working. Sure it was classified information, but he could care less. He wasn’t in America and he had become a freelance worker, not a Devil Dog. 

After he finished, Makoto’s position shifted and she had found herself with her head in Ren’s lap looking up at him, enjoying the feeling of Ren’s hands running through her hair, she knew she had to try this with Ren to see if he had the same feeling of happiness. “Wow… It certainly sounded like one big adventure.” 

Ren nodded. “Although, I don’t remember Finn getting shot in any of the episodes…” 

“Who?” 

He looked down at her and grinned. “Nevermind, it’s just an American cartoon.” 

“I see.” Makoto mumbled sleepily, turning onto her side, continuing to use Ren’s lap as her personal pillow, her body beginning to relax. 

After a few moments of silence went by, Ren could tell she had fallen asleep, poking her shoulder as a test, it turned out that she had passed. With that, Ren slipped out from underneath her, standing up and turning around, hooking an arm underneath her knees and the other around the small of her back, hoisting her up and carrying her off to her room.

Once he had entered, it was just as he expected; clean, orderly, organized, it looked as if Makoto’s thought-process had been materialized. He carried her towards her bed, resting her down and tugging the blankets down, lifting her back up and setting her on the sheet, covering her up to her neck with the blankets. 

“Night, Mako.” He mumbled quietly as he turned, noticing the stuffed panda bear he had gotten her on the desk. He cracked a smile and left the room, going into the living room for his own night’s sleep.

He huffed out a sigh and sat down on the couch, slouching down and crossing his arms as his head fell to the side, resting on the large cushions that were laid against the back of the sofa, falling into a quick sleep.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he woke up with his hands chained up above his head, his bare back pressed against a cold stone wall. There was a large metal door with a tiny eye-slit and a small door for food plates. 

His breath was cold and ragged, large gashes across his chest along with a dried red stream of blood running down from his eye. He coughed, his body tensing up from the pain that coursed through him. He had at least a few cracked ribs, or bruised at the very least. 

The last time Ren felt so miserable was during his interrogation when he was with the thieves, even then, he was still treated somewhat better than now. At least he got human interaction. Ren hadn’t seen a person in around six months.

 _‘Has it been six months already?’_

He shook the thoughts from his head and looked up to meet the dull pair of brown eyes in the small window in the door, staring at him with an unreadable look. 

“What do you want..?” Ren croaked out, his throat raw and dry. 

“I want nothing from you, Joker.” He replied.

“Then let me out!” He cried out, tugging against the chains that bound him to the wall. 

“Never. You’ll die and rot here for what you did to Alex.” The man muttered, blinking a few times, his eyes flashing from brown to a bright blue.

“A-Aaron?” Ren’s eyes widened.

“You lost Ren. You murdered Alex and you tried to kill me as well. Now you’ve found yourself here.” Aaron said, a smug grin spreading across his face.

“W-What do you mean, I never killed Al!” 

“Cut the shit, Ren. I know you killed him. And now that I’m done with you, I’m going to take down that pretty little police lieutenant of yours.” Aaron said, slamming the window shut.

“No! Don’t you dare harm her!” He screamed out, fighting and ripping against the chains. 

He heard footsteps retreat from his cell, leaving him to his own screaming mess. 

Finally, after what felt like hours of screaming in that cell, Ren’s eye opened and he shot up from the couch, sprinting into the hallway and bursting through Makoto’s door, a wave of relief running through him as he saw that she was safe. 

“Ren..?” She asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes as she sat up, looking at him with a confused stare as to why he was breathing so heavily. 

“I-I’m sorry I woke you. I just had to make sure - I’ll head back… Goodnight, Makoto.” He said as he began to shut the door.

“No! Wait! Come here!” She called out, watching the door swing back open as he walked through the door. 

“But-“ He argued.

“I said come here.” Makoto ordered, scooching aside and patting beside her. 

“I-I don’t want to get your sheets dirty.” He objected, beginning to backpedal towards the door.

“Then just take your dirty clothes off.” She replied, speaking all too easily for the words that escaped her lips.

Ren raised a brow and simply waited until she realized what she had said. 

Makoto stopped, wondering why exactly Ren was giving her that stare, then she finally realized exactly why he was looking at her the way he was. Her face grew red and she put a hand to her mouth. “I-I just want you to be comfortable…” She paused, turning away before looking back at him. “I also want you to tell me why you burst into here panting like you just ran for your life!” 

Ren smiled and sighed out a breath of satisfaction. He fully entered her room, shutting the door behind him. “Well… Uh, okay.” He mumbled to himself as he began unbuttoning his shirt, going down the line of white buttons until he slipped the shirt off his back, revealing a few subtle scars across his chest. 

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, watching the shirt fall to the ground. Sure she had told him to take off his clothes but to think he’d be so indiscreet about stripping down his attire! Her eyes returned to his torso, eyeing up his strong and lean physique. He had always had a lean and strong build as a Thief, however, he now appeared a slight bit larger, which was most likely ‘thanks’ to his time with the Devil Dogs. 

He looked at her, noticing her stare before he hastily returned his gaze back to his belt that he was jangling around as he slipped it out of the loops, setting it on the ground, then unbuttoning and sliding down his pants, wearing plain black boxer-shorts. 

Makoto couldn’t bear it anymore, she covered her face with her hands and turned away. 

_’How is he so relaxed about all of this!?’_

Ren was certainly the opposite of relaxed, his heartbeat thumping in his chest as he crept towards the bed, sitting beside her and swinging his legs up on the mattress. He then quickly pulled the covers over him. “You can look now… I’m under the covers.” 

“O-Okay!” She stammered, twisting to face him now, resting on her side as she stared at the man who lay beside her, his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. “Can you tell me about why you burst in here?” 

“Oh. Just some more nightmares… The usual.” He mumbled, removing his hands from behind his head and turning on his side to face her. 

“I see… Is there something bothering you?” 

“Aaron.” He sighed out, shutting his eyes. 

_‘I forgot that Aaron was practically hunting him down.’_ She said to herself in her mind, her heart wrenching at the thought if Ren would lose to Aaron, what would happen to him. Makoto acted on instinct, and pressed herself against him as she wrapped an arm around him and pressing the side of her head against his chest.

Ren froze but he eased and embraced her warmth, wrapping his arms around her and rolling onto his back. 

Makoto raised a leg, hooking it over his lap with her hand resting on his chest. She grinned and nuzzled herself into his neck. “Ren. You’ve killed a god before, I’m sure Aaron will be no problem.”

“As long as I keep you safe, that’s all I care about.” 

“I can fight too, you know?” 

“I’m very well aware. But Aaron is an expert in Aikido. Jujitsu, and Karate. I just don’t want you to have to fight him.”

“Well.” She grinned, turning her head to look up at him. “That’ll give you more motivation to be victorious.” 

“I guess so.”

Silence swept over the two of them. 

“Ren, what will happen to Aaron when you win?” 

“When?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’m confident.” She said with a smile, resting the side of her head against his chest once more.

“I don’t know, really.” He sighed, shrugging.

“I see…” She mumbled, the same silence sweeping over the two of them. Makoto let out an audible yawn, which was of course the second most adorable thing to Ren. “It’s late… Goodnight, Ren. I really do wish you the sweetest of dreams.” 

Ren smiled and hummed in gratitude. “Thank you, Makoto. Goodnight and sweet dreams to you, too.”

And finally, Ren was able to have a long dreamless night of deep sleep.

———— 

His eye fluttered open, immediately noticing the warmth of another pressed against him. He smiled and sat in silence, enjoying the warmth that Makoto had brought him. He had waited eight years to see her again and now here he was, laying down beside her, cuddling beside her. It was like a dream come true. 

Ren slipped out from underneath the covers, hoping to not disturb Makoto. It was safe to assume she had the day off, considering she was still fast asleep and not rushing out of the door with her uniform. 

He reached down and grabbed his pants, slipping them up and fixing the buttons. He opened the door and left the room, leaving the door cracked as he walked into the kitchen. 

He noticed the coffee machine and cracked a smirk. “Let’s see if I still got it.” 

Ren took the bag of Blue Mountain beans that was beside the coffee machine, pouring them into the maker, trying his hardest to remember exactly how Sojiro taught him.

Soon the coffee was ready and he dug through a few cabinets, searching for a mug. 

He pulled out a mug from the cabinet of glassware, the mug being a simple shape in all white with a very simple panda bear face painted on it. He grinned and grabbed the coffee pot, pouring it into the mug and returning the pot to its respective spot underneath the machine. 

He held the mug in both hands and returned to the hallway, walking to the Mako’s room. He pushed open the door with one hand, looking over at Makoto who was now sitting on the bed looking at her phone. 

“Goodmorning!” He said, giving her a toothy smile. 

“You’re awfully happy this morning.” She replied, looking over at him with a small grin spreading across her face.

“Well. I got a goodnight’s sleep, I woke up next to _the_ Makoto Niijima, and I was able to make her some coffee.” 

Her face’s color shifted to a bright hue of red, but she noticed the mug with the steam rising out of the tip. She could smell it as well. “Oh! You made coffee!?” She asked, her brows raising. 

Ren nodded and approached her, sitting on the bed in front of her, holding the mug out to her. 

She gladly accepted it, taking a sip and letting out a satisfied hum. “Looks like you’re still as good as ever with coffee, Ren.”

“I had a spectacular teacher.” He said with a playful wink. 

She lowered the cup from her lips and stared at him during their few seconds of silence. 

Ren held his same cheery smile, which was a delight to Makoto’s heart. She could hardly remember the last time he had looked so happy, perhaps when they were study partners at Shujin? Regardless, seeing Ren smiling now seemed like a fantasy. After hearing about everything that happened to him, she thought it’d be impossible for him to ever feel a trace of happiness, but here Ren was, proving her theories wrong once more.

Ren interrupted her thoughts as reached his hand across, cupping her chin and pulling her into a quick peck on the lips, his lips matching the delicious (but in a different way) taste of his coffee. She pulled back, the hue of her cheeks growing a vibrant pink, matching Ren’s equally pink face.

“How long have you been waiting to do that?” She asked, taking another sip from the mug.

“For eight years…” He finished, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned his stare off to the side. 

“Well? Eight years for _only one_ peck?” She teased, lowering the glass and leaning her head forward, offering him another smooch. 

Ren couldn’t ever resist the offer, he too, leaned in and their lips locked once more, the two spending the rest of their morning sharing hushed giggles and even more kisses. Throughout their laughs and smiles, Ren paid extra attention to her smile, her hushed giggles, and her red face that lingered the entire morning. 

A thought had constantly rebounded through his head.

_‘Will this be the last time I’m able to be with her?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very long delay between this chapter and the last one, I’ve been rather busy with traveling and writer’s block has handed me an utter ass whooping that still lingers.
> 
> Also, I’m not exactly the best fluff writer and the moods in this chapter shift and change on a dime which I felt has both benefits and cons to it. 
> 
> It sorta makes sense because Ren is somewhat bi-polar which would explain why he jumps from topic to topic during his explanation, but it’s also very unreasonable from a writing perspective, but regardless, It’s a first go.
> 
> Also, I know both Ren and Makoto are very robotic in this chapter and I apologize, I’m really really bad at capturing characters emotions and thoughts (it’s something I am still trying to improve but I could not write for the life of me this past week, so yeah, sorry u-u) 
> 
> Rant aside: THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR READING AND I LOVE YOU ALL (expect a side chapter for Recovering Barista, which will be my first attempt at something a bit more NSFW owo)
> 
> Edit: CREDIT FOR THE MORNING COFFEE SCENE GOES TO MELKECHI FOR THE ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS ART AND FOR GIVING ME A GOOD IDEA FOR FLUFFY WRITING WHEN I HAD NO CLUE ON ON HOW TO WRITE FLUFF: https://twitter.com/melkechi/status/1142109665846677505?s=21
> 
> CHECK IT OUT ^^


	7. The Plan and Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren meets an old accomplice and ally and receives a much-needed upgrade. 
> 
> He then heads to the abandoned steel warehouse to meet Aaron Buchmeier.

After their long morning of giggles and short smooches, Makoto finished the coffee and the two set out for their daily duties. 

As Ren got dressed up in his dirty and torn clothes, Makoto got dressed up in her all-black police getup, she wasn’t going to be in the office today, she was on patrol duty, (which was always the best in Makoto’s mind.)

Just before they exited her apartment, Ren stopped her. “Hey, Makoto. I need some new gear and you guys have some really nice gear at the department, would you mind pointing me in the direction of your toys?” 

Makoto averted her gaze from him, raising a knuckle and pressing it against her chin. She hummed in thought and pulled her hand away from her face and looked back at him. “Well. You wouldn’t believe it but we’re supplied by Okumura Industries.” 

“Wait... Haru Okumura?!” He asked, his eyes widening.

She nodded. “She took an interest in weapons and changed the company from food products to weaponry and armor.” 

He recovered his much more stoic and relaxed state. “I see. Is her building within walking distance?” 

“Yes. As soon as you exit the front door, take a right, walk four blocks, take a left, then, head straight for two blocks and it’ll be the big corner building.” 

He nodded and followed after Makoto as she led the way to the elevator, taking the ride down. Soon the elevator reached the ground floor, Ren stepping out and turning to face her. “I do have a plan, Ryuji will give you the details.” 

She looked at him, tilting her head in bewilderment. “Huh?” 

Before he could follow up, the doors shut and Makoto was sent down to the garage level, the doors opening to the dark and gloomy room filled with automobiles. 

She huffed out a sigh and went off to the corner of the large parking lot, swinging her leg over her motorcycle and strapping the helmet on, twisting the key and beginning her short drive to the police department to clock-in.

Meanwhile, Ren had begun his walk, following the instructions given to him by Makoto. He walked past a few people who gave him odd glares and that was when it struck.

 _‘Dammit. I left my glasses at the police station.’_

He sulked at the thought and began to play with a strand of hair, hoping his arm would somewhat block his hair. It also helped relax him, feeling the individual strands fall and roll into the grooves of his fingerprints. 

After the long walk and a few questionable stares, he finally arrived at a large two-story warehouse, labeled in with a bright red sign in bold font. 

_**Okumura Industries** _

He huffed out a heavy breath of air and sucked in an equally large gulp, stepping into the building where he heard a man greet him. 

“Hey, what’s up?” 

_‘I know that voice…’_

Ren looked at the man to his right who was sitting back with his legs kicked up on the counter, wearing a gray military cap with shooting headphones resting horizontally along the back of the cap. 

“Is that you, Iwai?” He asked.

The man removed his legs from the table and lowered the magazine that was covering the majority of his face. “Gun-enthusiast?” He asked, raising a brow.

“Long time no see!” Ren said with a cheeky grin. 

The man nodded with a chuckle, standing up and walking around from behind the counter, approaching Ren and standing in front of him with crossed arms. “Eight years.” 

“Yeah- I was a bit bu-“ Ren began to say until a violent burst of pain shot through his cheek and he sprawled back, falling onto the ground. Iwai had just socked him straight in the jaw.

“Sorry kid, I had to punch someone and you just happen to have a very punchable face.” The man explained, walking back towards his seat behind the counter.

Ren rolled onto his side and began to stand back up, his hand running over where he was struck. “While it was deserved, that still hurt, you dick.” 

Iwai huffed out another small laugh. “Anyways, what’re you doing back here in Shibuya?”

“Working with the police.” 

Iwai’s eyes narrowed as he looked Ren up and down. “You don’t look like it.” 

“It’s been rough,” Ren said with a sigh, approaching the counter, leaning against it as his eyes wandered off, exploring the lobby.

“All right. Now, what do you want from here?” 

Ren raised an eyebrow and turned to Iwai. “Huh? Oh! Right… I need to see Haru Okumura.” 

Iwai sighed and reached for the phone, pressing a few buttons and held it to his ear.

_“Hey.”_

_“Yeah, everything’s fine in the lobby.”_

_“Someone is here to see you.”_

_“Ren Amamiya.”_

Ren heard the other end of the line cut off, which was followed by a long and exaggerated sigh from Iwai. “She’ll be here in a second. She must not be happy with you.” 

“I’ll have to manage.” 

Ren heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind him and before he could fully turn to see who was coming up behind him, he felt knuckles connect with his jaw.

Ren’s body jerked and he flopped back against the counter, barely able to catch himself before completely falling back. He sulked at the stinging pain that lingered from both Iwai’s blow and the newly created bruise on his face.

“Eight years?! You just disappeared off of the Earth for eight years! You know how worried I was! Did you know how dreadful Makoto was when you left! Then, you just show up outta the blue!” He heard a female’s voice whining. Finally, his good eye had finally found its mark and met with the woman who was chastising him.

“Hey, Haru.” He mumbled, rubbing the side of his face that was struck and turning around, looking at Iwai, “She hits harder than you.”

“Tch.” Iwai rolled his eyes and picked up the magazine, burying his face back into its pages

It seemed like Haru’s realization kicked in and she went wide-eyed as she saw the handprint across his face and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry! I got caught up in my emotions and I guess that led to me hitting you!” 

He shrugged as best as possible for someone whose arms were being crushed alongside his ribcage. “I probably deserved it.” 

Haru cleared her throat and released, taking a few steps back. “I’m assuming you’re here for business right? Because by the looks of it, you’ve been doing some fighting.” She said gesturing to his bloody and dirty attire. 

“You’d be very correct.”

Haru nodded and hummed. “So, what do you need?” 

“Well. A new suit would be a good start.” He huffed out, “And if you have one, a melee weapon.” 

Haru bit her lower lip as her eyes darted to the side, “Hmm… I think I have something that would fit you quite well. Melee weapons are my specialty, after all.” She turned on her heel and began walking towards the large sliding double doors that were labeled Storage 

As he followed after her, he spotted large racks ordered in neat rows decorated with large melee weapons, firearms, and even artillery. “Is this even legal?” 

Haru shrugged. “Yes! Although it is illegal to hold about ninety-nine percent of these in the streets, it isn’t illegal to be a collector.” 

He continued to follow her down the line, watching as the rows of wooden bō-staffs and battle-axes began to grow much more modern in appearance, the materials changing from wood, to iron, to steel, and at the end of the row; they were made of carbon fiber. “It looks like you built a timeline of weapons.” 

“We have! Now follow me, let’s get you some new attire.” She said with a cheery grin. 

He hummed and followed after her, walking through another set of doors that swung open. 

Haru flicked a light on and along the wall was a singular set of a suit which was colored in all jet black with a matching pair of straightened trousers. The first layer was a simple two buttoned suit jacket, decorated with jet-styled pockets and notched lapels, underneath it was a matching charcoal vest and the final layer was a charcoal collared shirt, decorated with a neatly done full Windsor tie.

“This is one hell of a way to present a suit, Haru.” 

“Well, that’s because it’s lined with Kevlar and can withstand a bullet of up to the forty-fourth caliber.” 

Ren averted his gaze from the suit and towards her, his eyes wide. “You guys made a bulletproof suit!?”

“Bullet-resistant is the better word, but yes, we did.” She said with a proud smile. 

“How much will it cost?” He finally huffed out. 

“Depends on what you’re going to be need-” 

“I need this suit. No matter the cost.” He blurted out, stepping in front of her and putting both of his hands on her shoulders. 

“Well… I trust you enough to lend it to you.” Haru assured. “I’m sure it’ll make for a good field test.” 

“Thank you so much, Haru. You really don’t understand how much this means to me.” 

“Of course, Ren! Friends gotta stick together, you know!?” She said, stepping past him and pulling out a set of keys, fumbling with them until she came to the correct one. She pushed it into the lock and turned it, the protective glass case opening up it’s front-panel. She turned around and gestured to him, “I’ll let you dress up in here, I’ll have a tailor come in once you have finished to tidy up.” 

Ren bowed his head as he gave his thanks, watching as she left the storage room and shut the door behind her. He quickly got to work, stripping out of the old suit and quickly fitting himself into the new clothing. Once he had it fully on, it almost felt like a perfect fit, except a bit of looseness in the sleeves and the pant legs, but he knew the tailor could easily fix that. He also noted that while the suit was lined in armor, it was shockingly lightweight and very maneuverable. _‘Haru, you’re a damn genius.’_

There were a few knocks on the door and Haru stepped in, followed by a man who immediately rushed to Ren, taking out a piece of measuring tape.

“Oh- Uhm.” Ren stammered at the sudden intrusion as the man held up Ren’s arms and began to wrap the tape around all sorts of his parts: his waist, his biceps, his wrists, his shoulders, his thighs, his ankles. 

“First time with a tailor?” She asked, tilting her head to the side. 

“Yeah… It is.” He huffed out, looking down at the man as he began to fiddle with the linings and stitching of the ankle-cuffs, tightening them so his fit was as perfect as possible. The tailor stood back up and began to do the same with Ren’s wrists and shoulders. Finally, he stepped back and held his hands behind his back, giving Ren a bow and leaving the room.

Ren rolled his shoulders and held his arms out, clenching his hands into fists, he felt even more maneuverable in the suit now that it fitted him like a glove. “This is insane…” He mumbled.

“Hey! It’s innovative, not insane!” She whined, giving him a large frown. 

“Insanely…. Innovative!” He said with a weary grin as he remembered how Noir had always cut down the shadows in the metaverse with her battleax. He really did not intend to join them, either. 

“Good!” She said with a short hum as she stood up straight, leading the way out of the smaller storage room and into the weapons room once more. She went immediately to the same aisle they had taken to get to the first room and walked to the end of the row, grabbing a carbon fiber bō and turning around to face Ren who had only just caught up to her. She tossed it to him.

He fumbled with it at first but caught it against his body, adjusting his grip and holding it firmly in his hands. “A bōstaff?” Ren asked as he analyzed the staff that he now held in his hands, it was about one and a half meters in length. 

“Have you ever used one?” She asked, folding her hands over one another, letting them hover over her lap.

“I have. I trained in bōjutsu during my time in the United States.” 

Her head recoiled back and she cocked an eyebrow. “They taught an Asian fighting style in America?”

“No. I sought out an instructor.” He hummed, spinning the stick in one hand before stopping the spin with his other hand. 

“I see. I hope it will be good enough for whatever you’re hoping to accomplish?” 

“It will be certainly useful.” He said with a firm nod. “Thank you so much, but I must head off to the police department.” 

Haru nodded, leading the way once more to the front entrance. As they entered the lobby, she saw him out of the front door and stood in the parking lot, following him to the sidewalk. “I hope we’ll see each other again, soon?”

He nodded. “Yeah, We will. I’ve been thinking of a big P-Thief reunion.” 

Haru grinned and nodded. “You’ll have to tell me the story about your scar as well. I need to know what you’ve been up to!” 

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, another time for that conversation, I must be off.” He gave her a courteous bow. “Thank you very much, Haru.” 

She turned on her heel and began walking back to her warehouse.

He watched her disappear into the sliding doors and he turned on his heel, making off for the police department, whistling as he twirled the bōstaff around in his hands, getting used to the weight equilibration. 

Finally, after about thirty minutes, he had made it to the police station. He entered the station and walked past a few men who were completing their duties at the front desk. He headed for the firing range, assuming Ryuji might have been there.

He entered the firing range and found the lights were off. He sighed and flicked the lights on, returning to the table where he had left his sunglasses, grabbing them and slipping them over his eyes.

“Was that a Joker I heard?” He heard Ryuji’s voice call out from the doorway, the blonde man poking his head around the corner to look directly at him. “Hey, buddy!” 

Ren hopped off the desk and quickly approached Ryuji. “Hey man, I need your help!” He said, reaching out and grabbing his collar, pulling him into the room and shutting the door behind him. 

“Okay? Woah!” Ryuji exclaimed as he was pulled into the room, after adjusting his already messy tie and shirt he looked back up at Ren with a frown. “What is it, dude?” 

“Get two of your guys who are most trustworthy to you and are patient. Bring them here so I can lay out the plan.”

“Okay…? Why did you have to pull me in here just to tell me to leave again, though!” Ryuji groaned, throwing his arms out and letting them flop by his sides as he left the room.

“Because I needed to add some dramatic flair!” Ren called out to him as he walked off.

Not even five minutes later, Ryuji returned with both a man and a woman behind him. He entered the firing range and looked over at Joker, shutting the door behind the three of them. “This is officer Sugimoto and this is Officer Suzui.” 

“Good. First things first. No one can tell anyone of this plan, not the Commissioner, not even Lieutenant Niijima, got it?”

The three nodded in return.

“Tonight, you guys are going to bust one of the biggest mercenaries in the world. Aaron Buchmeier…” He said with a grin, resting the bōstaff on the table behind him as he began to unfold his plan to them. 

**10:50 P.M**

_“Sugimoto, you in position?”_

_“In position.”_

_“Suzui?”_

_“In position, sir!”_

_“You ready for this Joker?”_

“Whatever happens, stick to the plan and wait for the signal.” He muttered into the walkie-talkie, tossing it aside afterward. He sighed and rolled his shoulders as he began to head for the front entrance of the abandoned steel warehouse, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves, grabbing his staff. 

He entered the door and walked through the dark hallways until he came into the large and empty cargo room, surrounded by empty and large wooden crates. He walked to the end of the room and began his wait. 

Soon, he heard heavy footsteps beginning to approach the doorway he had just previously entered. The door opened and Aaron stepped through the doorway, dressed in a white suit with black trousers and a black tie.

“Looking snazzy, Aaron!” Ren cooed in English as he began to approach the man, who didn’t reply.

Ren stood within a few feet from the man who continued to stomp forward until the said man let a fist fly towards Ren.

Ren yelped and ducked under the punch and spun the bō around his back and his body twisted, slamming the staff against the back of Aaron, earning a loud grunt to escape the beast of the man. 

“So your cute bōjutsu lessons turned out to be useful, huh?” Aaron mumbled, keeping his back to Ren who was standing in a ready fighting stance, the staff being held firm and close to his body with it pointed directly at Aaron.

Aaron’s hand raised and he reached into his suit, turning with a pistol now in his hand as he fired three shots into Ren’s chest.

Ren grunted in pain, while the bullets didn’t penetrate the kevlar lining it still felt like he had gotten shot, except he wasn’t bleeding- which was a pro in his eyes. He growled and sprinted directly towards the man, slamming the end of the staff into the ground to give him extra force as he let his leg fly out, the heel of his shoe connecting with Aaron’s nose.

Aaron stumbled back a few steps and held tightly onto the bridge of his nose, his body slouching over as blood began to drip from his nostrils.

Ren crept closer, preparing another swing. He raised the bō above his head and sent it down, a loud clang ringing in the air. 

Aaron had grunted as he held tightly onto a steel pipe he had picked up, using it to block the strike that had nearly hit him. He twisted his hips and let a kick fly, his shin finding its way to strike Ren’s ribcage, sending him flying off to the side.

Ren slide across the ground, his glasses bouncing and skidding across the concrete. He coughed and struggled to stand up, climbing up to his hands and knees as he attempted to recover his breath. 

Aaron readjusted his grip on the pipe and stomped towards Ren, raising the pipe and slamming it down directly into the small of Ren’s back, sending straight back into the concrete.

Ren cried out in pain, lying motionless against the ground until he once again attempted to get up, being able to reach his hands and knees until another blow from the pipe came and struck him in the back.

Ren’s coughing fit had erupted into something worse, he was now coughing up blood and spitting out the red liquid into the concrete beneath him. “That…” He spat. “That all you got, Aaron? Alex would be disappointed.” He said with a chuckle.

Aaron’s eyes furrowed and he let his leg fly, kicking Ren straight in the ribs once more, sending him rolling onto his back. He then swung his legs over Joker’s torso, his hand wrapping around Ren’s throat and pinning his head to the ground. He raised a fist and slammed it down into his face, followed by another blow, and another one. 

Ren felt his face explode in pain as his vision was blocked with a red liquid that splattered all across his face.

Meanwhile, Ryuji, Shiho, and Sugimoto were all hiding behind a set of crates, Shiho leaning towards Ryuji, whispering, “We have to help him!”

Ryuji shook his head. “No. He said no matter what, we do not interfere until the perfect opportunity.” 

Sugimoto sighed and shook his head, watching as Aaron began to wail out on Ren. “Joker’s not even fighting back nor is he blocking the strikes.” 

Ryuji grimaced and looked back at the obvious one-way fight. “He’s got it.” 

Aaron was panting now, having used both of his hands to help dish out a brutal beatdown to Ren. Aaron then stood up and grabbed the steel bar from off the ground. “Get back up, this fight ain’t over, Ren.” He growled, spinning the pipe in his hands as he paced back and forth. 

Ren was still in a daze, his vision tainted Ren and blurry, the lights on the ceiling duplicating and moving in quick circles. He attempted to move his arm to help him roll onto his stomach to stand up but his body refused to react. 

Aaron huffed out in disappointment as Joker struggled to get up. He stomped back over to the man and swung the pipe down, smashing it down into Ren’s femur.

Ren screamed out in agony as his hand shot down and grabbed tightly onto the fabric of his pants just above his thigh. Soon he started to feel countless blows against his chest, stomach, arms, and legs. Aaron had begun to go into one of his beatings once more, using a mix of both kicks and swings of the pipe to beat down into Ren. 

“He’s going to die!” Muttered Shiho, leaning towards Ryuji as she watched the beating in horror.

“Just trust him, Shiho… Trust him.” Ryuji muttered, attempting to keep himself under control as he heard the constant wails of agony and pain that erupted from his best friend who was being beaten to death. “Just trust him…” He repeated as he watched on. 

Ren coughed and sputtered, rocking back and forth in pain as his body began to shut down. 

Aaron had clearly gotten his fix, which was evident as he reached down and clenched his hands around Ren’s throat, squeezing.

Ren was just barely able to squeeze out a yell. “The show’s over!” He yelled out, spitting blood into Aaron’s face. 

From behind, Ryuji, Shiho, and Sugimoto all broke into a sprint, the three of them tackling Aaron at once. Shiho was the first to draw her pistol, holding it to the man’s head as Ryuji and Sugimoto moved for his arms and shoulders. “You’re under arrest, Aaron Buchmeier, for attempted murder and for battery.” 

Aaron looked at her bewildered as to what happened. “W-What!?” He began to struggle, attempting to break free from both Ryuji and Sugimoto who held his arms down. 

Shiho’s brow furrowed and pulled the hammer back on her pistol. “Quit resisting arrest and you may help your case in court.” 

Aaron sighed in defeat as he was rolled onto his stomach, his hands being handcuffed behind his back as he was walked out of the building by both Shiho and Sugimoto. 

Ryuji could hear a few car doors slam shut, smirking. _‘I knew Ren had a plan. He was simply waiting until Aaron exhausted himself enough for the rest of us to take him out… He’ll be getting up any second now.’_ He turned to look at Ren, who was lying motionless on the floor, except for the slightest hint of breathing. His eyes widened and he rushed over to his friend who was lying face down on the ground. He rolled him over and looked down at him. “Hey, pal, you doing all right?’

Ren coughed and spat blood aside, “I-I’ll be good.” He mumbled. “But an a-ambulance would be nice.” His voice was weak, frail, and airy. 

“Yeah, I’ll get right on it.” Ryuji grinned as he pulled out a phone, dialing nine-one-one. 

“We need an ambulance right now! We have a seriously wounded man and he requires immediate medical attention!” 

After the short call, Ryuji rested the phone on the ground and looked back down at Ren. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

Ren nodded and coughed again, spitting out more red liquid. “Y-Yeah.”

**11:20 P.M.**

“Where are Officers Sugimoto, Suzui, and Sakamoto?!” She yelled out, stepping into the police station.

“I don’t know, but Sugimoto said something about heading to the abandoned steel warehouse. There just happened to be an ambulance sent there as well!” Replied one of the officers.

“Thank you!” Makoto yelled, darting out of the front door and running straight for the parking lot, starting her bike and speeding towards the steel warehouse. 

She was able to beat the ambulance to the scene and stepped off her bike, parking it just in front of the warehouse. She threw the helmet off of her head and raced into the building, bursting through the doors to see Ryuji holding a very weak, frail, and bloodied Ren up. Ren had his arm draped around Ryuji’s shoulder and he was limping with one leg, dragging the other one behind him as they headed for the door.

She could audibly hear Ren gulp and could very easily hear Ryuji mumble under his breath.

“Ahhhh... shit.” 

“What the hell happened to him!” She screamed, rushing up to help walk him towards the doorway, slinging his other arm over her shoulder. 

“Aaron Buchmeier, the crazy bastard... But don’t worry, He’s in custody as we speak… Ren’s plan worked like a charm!” Ryuji said, grunting as he adjusted himself.

“Ren looks like he just got beaten half to death, you call that working like a charm!?” She cried out.

“That was a part of his plan, Makoto!” 

“Why didn’t you tell me, Ren!?” She whined, looking at him as he was already beginning to slip out of consciousness.

“Because you wouldn’t have waited…” He mumbled weakly, his eyes sealing shut and his arms losing all the strength they had in them as he toppled to the ground.

Makoto was about to speak but paramedics burst through the door and picked Ren up in a stretcher and as quickly as they burst in, they retreated back to the ambulance and very quickly disappeared without a single word or question. 

Makoto stood in awe as she looked around the room, noticing blood decorating the floor as if it were a carpet. 

“You gonna stand there like a robot or are you going to see him in the hospital!?” Ryuji asked, already pacing towards the doorway and exit.

Makoto sighed and followed shortly after, stepping onto her bike and riding off in pursuit of the ambulance siren that wailed down the street.

**1:30 A.M**

After waiting sixty minutes outside of the room, a doctor finally came out of the operating room to greet Makoto. 

“Officer Niijima?” The doctor asked.

“Yes!?” She responded, shooting up from her seat to approach the doctor. 

“I have good news for you, madam.” He continued, “Your friend is going to live.”

A swell of relief swept over Makoto as she huffed out a sigh to allow some it to escape. “Thank you so much do-”

“However, he is being put into a medically induced coma due to his loss of blood and lack of oxygen flow to his brain due to his strangling, on the plus side... There will be no permanent damages”

That relief had quickly fallen into a deep and sunken pit of despair. “A-A Coma?” She repeated.

“Yes… He’ll be under for three weeks.” The doctor nodded.

“I see… Th-Thank you so much for saving him, doctor.” She said, her voice wavering in pitch as she attempted to control her rapidly building emotions. 

“You may go see him before he goes under.” The doctor said, stepping aside from the doorway, gesturing for her to go in.

As she stepped in, she could see Ren had bandages covering his whole torso, he was also accompanied with a cast on his right arm and more bandages around his leg. “R-Ren!” She cried out, her resistance from earlier becoming futile as tears began to drip from her eyes.

He turned and saw her slowly approaching him. “Makoto.” He said weakly, his voice still shaky and frail.

She walked around the gurney and took his left hand in both of hers, resting her forehead against the warmth of both of their hands. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She mumbled. 

Ren blinked a few times and looked at her, “I’m… really, really, tired.” 

Makoto knew what that meant, she could see the syringe in his right arm. 

He was soon to go under. 

“I know, Ren. Get some sleep, I’ll be here for when you wake up…” She said, removing one of her hands from his to wipe away the tears that continued to flow down her face. 

“Uhm… Okay.” He mumbled, shutting his eyes. “I’m sorry, Makoto.” He said as he began to doze off, his grip on her hand slipping. “Sorry for making you worry,” Ren mumbled as his head fell limp against the pillow and his hand released its grip on hers. 

Makoto shook her head. “Don’t be sorry… Just get some sleep, Ren.” 

Soon, he was asleep, and she was left alone again.

_‘It’s only three weeks, you got this, right?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank y'all for waiting patiently for this next chapter! I'm finally home from vacation and I can get back into writing! 
> 
> And here we have it, a bit of angst, a bit of action, and a slight bit of good ole friendly fluff (and a good bit of Ryuji being dumb as hell cause I just had to.) 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy and thank you all so much for reading, love you all!4
> 
> (P.S. Check out my good friend Kagu's artwork on a few scenes from this series, they are seriously talented and they deserve all the love and support! So go tell 'em some words of kindness and a follow cause they are seriously talented. Link -- https://twitter.com/only_sayori/status/1142290423915929600 )


	8. The Final Stretch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto has already made it through fourteen days, but this final stretch is going to be the toughest of them all. At least Makoto and Ren both have friends that look out for them.

**Day 15**

It had already been two weeks.

Two long weeks for the police lieutenant, Makoto Niijima.

Every morning she would wake up at her exact time of six-thirty in the morning, get dressed, and ride her motorcycle to the police department. Each second felt like an eternity to her, she dreaded every minute of the day. 

_‘He will be okay… He will be okay… He will be okay’_

She repeated these four words in her head constantly, she couldn’t have gone a single hour without saying the phrase at least three times. 

She even began to nit-pick her schedule, which was felt dull and meaningless without the thought of being able to see Ren after the end of it. Makoto had no clue why these thoughts suddenly began to rise within her, she never found her job tedious or dreadful, even when she was stuck in her office all day filing arrests, it was never dreadful. _Never._

However, it was now the most dreadful experience she felt when she was trapped within that office. She eyed her calendar on her phone that lied on the desk, taking a look at the long week that was ahead of her. 

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday were all those dreadful days she had to be in her office. Then, Wednesday and Friday were days she was typically out on patrol or riding her motorcycle. Those were the days where she could pretty much ‘shut down’ her brain and simply ride, enjoying the feeling of the wind and give a feeble attempt to forget all of the troubles Ren was going through during his slow recovery. Her weekends were luckily her off-days, which she was certainly lucky to have. 

She shut off her phone and grabbed her pen, looking at the thin stack of papers that were in front of her. She clicked the pen a few times and then tapped her chin with the end of it. She wanted to focus, she needed to focus.

But she couldn’t.

_‘Ren, why did you have to do it alone?’_

She kept asking herself, repeating those same words that he told her.

_‘“You wouldn’t have waited.”’_

_‘Waited for what? What did he want me to wait for!?’_

She clenched her fist tightly around the pen, her wrist beginning to shake from how hard she had been gripping. 

Her face went pale as she got lost in thought once more.

She felt useless.

Makoto _was_ useless to Ren.

Once more, his words began to play in her head, dating back to the time she had approached him the morning after his return. 

_‘“Ever since I’ve shown my face, you’ve been nothing but rude to me! At least Ryuji pretended to be happy I wasn’t dead in a ditch!”’_

_‘Did I really make him that miserable?’_

However, she immediately contradicted her own thoughts with another memory, this time his voice echoing in her head in a much more sweet and gentle tone. 

_‘“...But if it isn’t too much to wish for, I’d like for us to be together.”’_

Her grip loosened and she clicked the pen shut, sighing deeply as she shook her head. She pushed herself back from the table and stood up, walking to the window that faced the front of the building, opening it up and enjoying the cool breeze the rolled in. 

She took notice to the trees’ leaves all beginning to turn to vibrant orange and brown, watching the wind carry the leaves away from the short twigs that held bound them to the rest of the tree. 

She watched a few leaves get carried away and took a deep breath as the breeze blew through the window and caught her hair, her hair ruffling and shimmying as the cool air weaved its way through the strands of her brunette hair. 

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

She stopped and turned around, looking at the doorway with a confused stare, raising an eyebrow as she watched the door began to creak open. 

She saw the foot of a man and soon the whole door swung open to reveal a taller and much more slender man, dressed in a simple white button-up shirt with black trousers. Her eyes continued to rise from the man’s attire to meet with his dark ocean-blue eyes and darker blue hair that swept from the right side of his head across his forehead towards the left side. 

“My apologies for intruding, I came here today because I heard about what had happened to Ren and wanted to check up on you to see if you had heard anything about it.” The man spoke, his voice gentle and monotonous. 

“Yusuke?” She asked, her eyes widening slightly as she relaxed her shoulders from their tense and formal state.

“Makoto,” He said with a curt bow, stepping into the room, shutting the door behind him. 

“I thought you had an exhibit in Hong Kong, why are you here in Tokyo?!” She asked, approaching the man who now stood stiff as a board in her room.

“I immediately canceled my plane tickets once I had heard of Ren’s current state of being in a text message from Ryuji. I was just returning from the hospital when I saw the police department, and here I am now.” Yusuke said, gesturing the floor beneath him. 

She looked at him with an impressed stare that also had a faint hint of shock mixed in. “I-I had heard.” 

Yusuke nodded, huffing out a sad sigh as he shook his head before it perked back up with a glint in his eyes now. “I’m fairly certain he will make a hasty recovery. He is the Joker, after all!” 

Makoto nodded as a bittersweet smile spread across her face. “Yeah… It’s only a matter of time until he finally wakes up.”

Yusuke gave her one final nod. “I do hope you are coping with this well, I must be on my way.”

“Of course.” She replied with a bow. “Ren wakes up on Sunday, if you’d like to be there.” 

A satisfied grin spread across the man’s lips as he turned to face the door. “Looks like I must cut my trip to Hong Kong a day short.” He twisted the doorknob and swung the door open, walking out of the room and further leaving the building.

Makoto huffed out a deep sigh and shut the door, walking around and taking a seat in her office chair, sliding back to her desk as she lifted the pen, clicking it once more and began to go back to work. 

After her shift had ended, she walked into the parking lot and got onto her motorcycle, revving the engine, pulling out of the lot and heading directly towards the hospital space.

She entered the building and took a look around the empty waiting room and skipped past the receptionist who sat at the front desk, giving her a small wave as she walked past. She had gotten to know the woman who was working there, she had seen her approximately twenty-eight times in the past two weeks, and it became clear that the woman understood that Makoto needed no guidance to find Ren in the hospital.

She entered the room that was numbered 4-23, which the number had always felt familiar, but she was never able to put a finger on it and had simply forgotten why it ever made her feel that way in the first place. 

Makoto shut the door quietly behind her and took a look at the man who was resting peacefully on the bed, she could notice he had already begun to thin underneath the bandages, which only made her heart wrench even further. She nibbled on her lip and walked around his bed, rolling one of the chairs to the side of it and sitting down beside him, taking his non-casted hand in her own, folding her hands over his. 

She mumbled and held tightly, sitting in silence, just in that same position for another thirty minutes before she finally stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ren. Goodnight, I hope you’re having sweet dreams in there.” She said quietly, fighting back the droplets of tears that threatened to fall down her face. 

Makoto walked to the door, opening it and walking out to return to her motorcycle for a very much needed therapeutic night ride. 

**Day 16**

Makoto woke up to the annoying beep of her alarm, immediately rolling on her side, feeling the cold and empty spot on the bed beside her. She huffed out a sad sigh, “He’s been gone for two weeks already and I’m still here, thinking he will appear beside me like a fairytale.” She mumbled to herself as she swung her legs out of bed, standing up and getting dressed in her blue uniform. 

She went about the rest of her schedule for the morning, eating breakfast, brushing her teeth, fixing her hair, hugging the buchimaru-kun stuffy that Ren had gotten her (which was a new addition to her schedule four days into Ren’s absence,) and rode off to the police department. 

Once she entered, the same wave of dread had smashed into her.

_‘I was here while Ren was nearly killed. I was here, being **useless.** ’_

She thought to herself as she walked past the front reception desk and into her office. 

She slumped down into her seat and scooched herself into her desk, going back to the same and repetitive filings of papers. She was skimming through the papers, signing off and double checking on all of the details that were listed for each convicted person who had been detained. While most of them had been minor felonies and small problems that usually ended up as a slap on the wrist, there were the few occasional and devastating cases of gang violence, murders, and other horrific acts that weren’t anything short of gruesome. 

Makoto continued to robotically flip through the pages, giving them each a thorough check before sliding them aside. 

Her robotic procedure was brought to a halt as she saw the photo of a burly blonde man. She went through the list of details. 

_**Name:** Aaron Buchmeier_   
_**Age:** 33_   
_**Occupation:** Freelancer, Mercenary, Ex-Contractor for Devil Dogs_   
_**Height:** 1.981 Meters_   
_**Weight:** 113.398 Kilograms_

Makoto stopped at that mark and shook her head with her eyes wide. 

_‘This man is nearly two meters tall and weighs almost one-hundred-fifteen kilograms? And Ren fought him in a fist fight!?’_

Makoto finally grasped the reality of why Ren didn’t want her to fight this man. No amount of Aikido and nimbleness would outdo his brutish strength, besides, she was almost around thirty-three centimeters shorter than him! She frowned at the thought of her very own fight with the man and continued on with her reading.

_**Origin of Birth:** Detroit, Michigan, United States of America,_   
_**Accused of:** Attempted Murder and Battery of police cooperator and freelancer ‘Joker.’ Illegal possession of firearms, resisting arrest. _

Makoto huffed out a long sigh and took another look at the photo, sulking at the image as she clenched her fist, her knuckles growing pale. 

There was a knock on the door and Makoto released the tension that had begun to build up in her arm and looked at the door, clearing her throat. “Come in!” 

The door creaked open and a man stepped in, his hands tucked into the pockets of his grey trench coat. He was wearing a camouflage military cap with a pair of yellow shooting headphones wrapped around the brim, he had slight scruff covering his cheeks and around his lips. 

Makoto looked at him for a second and tilted her head, “Mister Munehisa? I do not believe we had planned a meeting with Okumura indust-”

“It’s not about that, Lieutenant.” He interrupted, shutting the door behind him as he walked to her desk, taking a seat across from her, crossing his arms as he slouched in the chair. “It’s about the kid.” 

“The kid?” She repeated, keeping the same curious stare on her face.

“The gun-enthusiast.” 

“The gun-enthusiast?” She repeated again.

“Ren!” He said, throwing his hands up, both falling and slapping against his knees as he adjusted his position to a much more upright and nonchalant form. 

“O-Oh. If you’re wondering if I had heard about his current state, I have.” 

“I had assumed you heard about him. Based on how Miss Okumura talks about how you two were, you were quite fond of him back in the day before, y’ know, he disappeared off the face of the Earth.” He said with a hushed and short-lived chuckle before leaning back into the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

Makoto’s cheeks lit up to match the color of a rose as she looked down at the papers on her desk in an attempt to distract herself. “W-What did Haru tell you?”

Iwai shrugged. “Nothing much, really. Just about how often you two spent time with each other. She was telling me all about it yesterday after he dropped by.” 

“I see.” She mumbled before looking back up at him. “So, why do you require my presence, Mister Munehisa?” 

“Just call me Iwai. ‘Mister Munehisa’ makes me wish I’d finally heel over and die of old age.” He huffed out. “But I was here to ask you when the guy is gonna wake up.” 

“He will be waking up in six days, on Sunday.” 

“Good to know.” He said, using the arm rests of the chair to help support him as he stood back up. “That’s all I needed, thanks.” With his final thanks, he left the room.

Makoto sat still for a second, pondering.

_‘Why does everyone come to me asking about Ren? Sure I had a crush on him eight years ago and sure we were close, but I never was that obvious about my liking to him, right?’_

Makoto also remembered. 

_‘Wait- I’m dating him now… Is that why!?’_

_‘No… It’s probably just Ryuji telling everyone about how we’re spending time together.’_

Her thoughts continued to race through her head, however, four words always found their way in Makoto’s conscious thought. 

_‘He will be okay…’_

She finished her day of work, repeating the same words in her head. Shortly afterward, she rode to the hospital and spent time in room 4-26. 

“Goodnight, Ren. Sweet dreams.” She mumbled, leaning over the side of his bed, planting a kiss on his forehead just before leaving and going on another night ride.

**Day 17**

_‘He will be okay.’_

Makoto continued to think in her head, it was her last day of the week of being stuck in her office. The thought of tomorrow somewhat lightened her grim mood, the thought of being able to ride her motorcycle around town and simply get out of what felt like a prison. 

She hummed in thought as she stared down at the papers that lay in front of her. Huffing out a sigh as she came across another suspect for the past few murders that have been plaguing the news in Shibuya. 

Makoto had taken a notice to the person who had been committing the grizzly murders that had been occurring all too frequently, it had been eight years since Tokyo saw as much chaos as it did now, which sparked a thought in her brain.

_‘It appears wherever Ren goes, chaos follows that poor boy.’_

She shrugged off the thought and moved on with analyzing the suspect. 

He was a taller man with broad shoulders and brown hair, nothing especially out of the ordinary. Did he look like he had the strength to kill another human? Probably. But there were no clues or ties besides the fact that he had known two of the victims, which to Makoto, was hardly evidence. Shibuya, while crowded, could feel small sometimes. She learned that after constantly running into Ren during her third year at Shujin Academy. 

She went through the details and typed through the databases on her computer, confirming all the details of the man were matching in his case file and pushed it aside, adding it to the rest of the pile.

Another long hour had passed by until she finally finished her shift, taking a look outside the window to see the sun beginning to go down. 

Makoto stood up from the desk and stretched her arms above her head and stared at the setting sun.

_‘He will be okay.’_

After Makoto had clocked in her hours, she left the building and hopped onto her motorcycle, going to visit Ren once more. 

She entered room 4-26, flicking the light switch on and walking around the curtain that blocked the patient from the doorway, immediately taking notice to the woman who was sitting beside the bed, her hands clasped and resting in her lap. She had bright, long, platinum blonde hair, which was tied into a singular ponytail that stretched down to her mid back. 

“Ann?” Makoto asked, her eyes wide.

Ann’s head shot up and looked at Makoto, her eyes wide as well. “Oh! Makoto!” Ann’s expression softened as she stood up and ran to Makoto, pulling her into a tight hug. 

Makoto hesitated but found herself succumbing and returning the tight hug. “Hello, Ann.” 

Ann finally released the tight hug and looked back at Ren, her hands falling to her sides. “It’s really been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Makoto held the same melancholic expression that Ann held while she stared at the sleeping Ren.

“Yeah…” Makoto mumbled as she took a chair and rolled it underneath her, taking a seat at the side of the bed, Ann soon joining beside her in another rolling stool.

“He definitely looks different.” The blonde said with a small sigh, her shoulders drooping. 

“Yeah…” Makoto repeated, deciding it would be best to not interrupt Ann’s train of thought and to instead let her riff on.

“He left behind all of his belongings, his family, his house, his school, his friends, just to protect us.” Ann continued. “He was a spectacular fighter in the metaverse, I suppose he took it out of the metaverse and into the real world...”

Makoto nodded. “He told me a lot about his past.”

Ann looked over with a curious stare. “Do you think he’d be okay if you told me?”

She huffed out a sigh and continued to stare at Ren, shrugging. “I really don’t know. It took me awhile to get him to speak about it, he did get a bit loud at one point.” 

Ann sulked and looked back at her old friend who laid motionless, taking notice to the faint scars that decorated his torso and the one prominent one that covered his eye. “Where did he get them?”

Makoto stared for a second before opening her mouth, clearing her throat before speaking. “He’s a mercenary.” 

“You mean he…? You mean _our_ Ren, kills for a living?” Ann asked, her eyes wide as she turned and looked back at Makoto.

“Yes. He told me about it, once he got out of prison, he left for America and there he joined a private military and was hired to fight in Afghanistan. That’s where he got those scars.” Mumbled the brunette as she held her stare towards Ren, eyeing each individual scar that decorated him. 

Ann turned to face back to Ren. “Did he tell you what happened to his eye?”

Makoto nodded. “In great detail.” 

“What happened?” 

Makoto finally freed her eyes from him, turning to look at Ann with a stare that was mixed between concern and fear. “Are you sure you want to hear? It’s a very graphic story.”

“I need to know what happened to our friend, Makoto! Please tell me!” Ann pleaded, turning to face Makoto, taking both of her hands in her own as she leaned towards her.

“R-Right…” Makoto stammered, looking down at their hands which were now folded on top of each other. She finally cleared her throat and looked back up to Ann. 

“He was in Afghanistan, on a mission with his partner and friend Alex. The two were meant to assassinate an American mercenary who was fighting for the opposing force, whom I don’t know of, and they were expected. Ren said they were pinned down and he was shot twice, he said Alex began dragging him until he was shot in the stomach, but even after that, he dragged Ren about another sixty meters.

“Alex finally collapsed next to Ren and they were surrounded, Ren said he could remember turning to see a man holding a gun to his friend’s head and then watching him get shot. Afterward, he told me he was knocked out and woke up inside of the massive cave base that they were keeping for prisoners of war. 

Afterward, he said he was met face to face with the guy who had shot his friend… He said the man had a large serrated blade, which he had heated over a fire to keep it nice and hot and…” Makoto trailed off, looking at Ann’s horrified face, “Are you sure you want to hear the rest?”

Ann gulped and nodded, not uttering a word. 

“Ren said the man dug the blade directly into his eye, he described to me the pain and he said it was worse than anything he’s felt back in the metaverse… He even told me he could hear the blade screeching from the sudden temperature change, he also told me he could feel his eyeball practically melted into a goo that spilled across his cheek like a teardrop. Then the man sliced upwards, cutting straight through his eyebrow and it was deep to the bone of his eye socket…” Makoto finished, looking down as tears began to drop down her cheeks and into her lap.

Ann’s eyes betrayed her as well, tears beginning to form and fall down her cheeks. “T-That’s…” She couldn’t even finish her sentence until she yelped out in sadness and pulled Makoto into a tight hug, both of them using the other’s shoulder as a tissue. 

Makoto nodded subtly as she held Ann to her. “It’s horrendous.” She mumbled. 

The two sat there, holding their tight hug, filling the room with their sniffles and whimpers. The two old friends rejoicing in a long and much-needed cry session. 

After the two had finished, Makoto stood up, leaving Ann as she sat still at Ren’s side, walking to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob, stopping and turning around. “Ann.”

Ann turned her head and looked at Makoto, “Yeah?” She asked, sniffling shortly afterward.

“Ren has… Changed, a lot.” She said sadly. “He’s become much more defensive.” 

Ann sighed and nodded, “I can see why.”

“But. I do know he still holds his same core values.” She said, turning back to the door. “Goodnight, Ann. Don’t stay up too late.” 

“Goodnight, Makoto.” 

“He will wake up Sunday.” She said, opening the door and exiting the room.

_‘He will be okay.’_

**Day 18**

“Hey, Mako.” She heard from the staircase as she was leaving to go out on patrol. Makoto cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at the source of the voice, seeing the blonde weapons expert with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall beside the doorways. 

“Hello, Officer Sakamoto.” She said with a curt nod, beginning to head back down the stairs. 

“Wait! I need to ask something, it’s about Joker.” He said, pushing himself off the wall and practically sprinting after her down the stairs, standing beside her with his hand on her shoulder. 

“What is it?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I just want to know how he’s doing and when he’ll wake up.”

“Uhm, Ryuji… He’s in a coma.” She said flatly.

“I know that! That’s why I asked when he’ll wake up!” 

“Then why did you ask how he is doing? He’s in a coma! When you’re in a coma, you’re nothing but out of consciousness, your losing weight, your body grows weak, and your body is dying!” Her voice began to rise as she held a hand out, making gestures to somehow show her frustration.

Ryuji put his hands up innocently, a sad expression on his face. “Hey- Woah! Settle down, Makoto… Sorry, I didn’t mean to… bring up whatever that was.” 

Makoto frowned and ran a hand through her hair, sighing softly. “I’m super sorry Ryuji, it’s been really stressful these past few days.” 

“It’s alright, is it work that is stressing you out?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“No! What!? My boyfriend is in a coma! Why do you think I’m stressed!?” She asked, her eyes raising. 

Ryuji’s head recoiled back as he gave her a questionable, yet amused stare. 

_‘Oh wait- No, I know that smile. Don’t you dare… Don’t you dare!’_ Makoto realized what she had just said.

And came that smile, Ryuji’s large toothy grin. “You’re dating Ren! I knew it! I knew it!” 

Makoto’s face plunged into a blushing mess as she looked aside bashfully.

“Makoto and Ren, sitting in a tree~!” Ryuji began to sing, doing a small jiggy to compliment his tone deafness. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First, comes love! Then, comes the-” 

“Ryuji!” Makoto could no longer bear it, putting her hand over Ryuji’s mouth. “Shut… Up!” She mumbled, turning and rushing down the stairs, reaching the sidewalk at the bottom before turning around. “He wakes up on Sunday!” She yelled up to him, before rushing to her motorcycle to fulfill her day patrol.

_‘He will be okay.’_ She thought as she rode through the streets, driving past the hospital and giving it a good long look.

_‘He will be okay.’_

**Day 19**

Makoto was riding around on her motorcycle, while the day was boring and consisted of no real incidents occurring other than a few minor road laws being violated. 

As she pulled back into the parking lot to grab her coat she had left in her office, she saw a familiar looking woman with fluffy caramel brown hair standing at the entrance of the building, wearing a pink coat with a white scarf wrapped around her neck. Haru Okumura.

“Are you here to ask about Ren?” Makoto asked, walking up the stairs to greet Haru.

“Y-Yes, actually! How did you know?” Haru asked, tilting her head.

“It seems everyone has been coming to me, asking me about him, lately,” Makoto mumbled, standing in front of Haru with her hands tucked into her pockets.

“Oh! Right. Ryuji created a new group chat among all of Ren’s acquaintances.” She said with a sheepish grin. 

“W-Why didn’t he add me!?” Makoto asked, frowning as she looked off to the side. 

 

“I bet he wanted to try and confuse you,” Haru said with a subtle shrug as she tilted her head to the side, her eyes wandering off as she tapped her index finger against her chin. 

“He certainly exceeded.” She mumbled.

“Make sure he doesn’t find out. He’ll never let you hear the end of it.” Haru said, giggling as she returned her somber look back to Makoto. “He did also mention to everyone that you two were dating.” 

Makoto’s eyes widened as she looked at her friend. “He what!?” She cried out, her face already beginning to grow hot. 

“Mmhm!” She hummed, nodding. 

“W-Who all is in the chat?” She asked, her hands slipping out of her pockets and clasping onto each other. 

Haru dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone, scrolling to the chat and showing the screen to Makoto, the list of all the names in the chat log.

_Ryuji Sakamoto_

_Haru Okumura (you)_

_Yusuke Kitagawa_

_Ann Takamaki_

_Chihaya Mifune_

_Iwai Munehisa_

_Tae Takemi_

_Sadayo Kawakami_

_Ichiko Ohya_

_Shinya Oda_

_Hifumi Togo_

_Yuuki Mishima_

_Toranosuke Yoshida_

_Sojiro Sakura_

_Futaba Sakura_

_Sae Niijima_

Makoto’s eyes scanned over the list. “Wow, he certainly had a lot of friends- Wait! Why is my sister in there!?” She exclaimed, her eyes narrowing on the name. “And why does Ryuji have my sister’s number?”

Haru shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll have to ask him.”

“I certainly will,” Makoto mumbled. “I must be off, though. I must go check on Ren.” 

Haru nodded and walked down the stairs. “I’ll see you Sunday, Makoto!” The fluffy haired girl said with a joyous smile on her face as she waved to her friend who disappeared into the police department. 

Makoto entered her office, walking to her desk, grabbing her coat and leaving the room. As she was heading out of the door, her phone beeped a few times.

_bi! bi! bi!_

Makoto took her phone out of her pocket and opened the messenger, seeing a text from her older sister. 

_**Sis:** I would like to talk to you about some things, how does dinner tomorrow night sound to you?_

Makoto looked at her phone in confusion and replied. 

_**Makoot:** It works for me, we can have it at my place, how does Udon sound?_

_**Sis:** Fine by me. I’ll be over at 6:30. _

_**Makoot:** See you then! _

_**Sis:** See you then. _

Just before Makoto revved up her motorcycle, she mumbled to herself underneath the helmet. 

“He will be okay.” 

**Day 20**

Makoto had spent her entire day off cleaning and polishing every single room in the house, cleaning them and making them as presentable as possible. She dusted shelves, cleaned and organized drawers, finished laundry, and even made sure to vacuum the living room floor three times. Makoto alone was a perfectionist, Sae was even more so. 

She had spent the early evening preparing food. She went out shopping to gather the ingredients for Sae’s favorite meal: Niku Udon

She had gathered slices of ribeye at the market, alongside nagi, noodles, sugar, soy sauce, Doshi, mirin, narutomaki, and shichimi togarashi. Once she had returned to her apartment, she laid out all the ingredients and began to get to work. 

Makoto had made the dish so many times that she no longer even needed to search up the proper steps to setting it up, she knew it by heart. Partially because her late father had always helped cook with her when she was younger. 

After about twenty minutes or so of mixing ingredients, managing the beef, and making sure she never overcooked the noodles, she had finished the meals just in time. 

There were three gentle knocks on the door, Makoto taking a quick look at her phone. “Six-thirty sharp, as expected.”

She turned on her heel and walked to the door, opening it and giving her older sister a large smile. “It’s good to see you, Sis!” Makoto said as she stepped out of the way, gesturing for Sae to enter.

“I could say the same, Makoto,” Sae replied with a gentle smile as she pulled her younger sister into a tight hug. 

Makoto wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist, embracing the familiar warmth her sister provided. She pulled back with a joyous smile. “Oh! Dinner is ready, take a seat at the table, I’ll be right out!” 

Sae nodded and slipped off her shoes, heading towards the dining room while Makoto broke off and went for the kitchen. She took a seat at the round table, 

Makoto returned out of the kitchen, carrying two bowls in each hand, resting one in front of Sae and one beside her where the other chair was. Makoto grinned and disappeared back into the kitchen before returning with two sets of chopsticks. “I know you love Niku Udon! I thought it would be nice to bring it back for our little dinner.”

Sae’s eyes lit up as she stared down at the steaming bowl of noodles in front of her. “Thank you very much.” She said, looking back up at Makoto and giving her a courteous bow of her head.

“Of course!” Makoto said, handing her a set of chopsticks before beginning to eat her own bowl. 

After the two had finished their meals and shared a few laughs while they discussed how things were going with work, Makoto finally broke the question. 

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” 

“Ren Amamiya.” 

Makoto’s mood dropped a few steps at the sudden reminder of his current predicament. While she was enjoying herself and eating Udon, Ren was most likely suffering through nightmares constantly, reliving his worst moments and fears. Part of her wanted to believe that he was having sweet dreams, the majority of her realized that it was far more likely he’d be having nightmares. “W-What about Ren?” 

Sae hummed. “I heard you two are together.” 

Makoto nodded. “Yes, we are.”

“Why?” Sae asked, her eyes narrowing as her tone grew colder. “He’s just a mercenary, he hardly gets paid.” 

“Because he is a good person and I care about him! It’s not always about money and finances, Sis!” Makoto defended, her tone also growing much colder and stern. 

Sae hummed and looked aside. “I suppose you’re right.” 

Makoto grinned victoriously.

“Do you plan to marry him?” Sae asked, returning her stare back to Makoto. 

“I-I…” Makoto stammered, her face plummeting to a dark crimson. “I do… If it comes to that.”

Sae did something that caught Makoto by surprise. She smiled. “If you’re really that caring about him… I wish you both good fortune in your relationship.” 

Makoto raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Oh, uhm, right. Thank you, Sis!”

“When will he come to?” 

“Tomorrow, actually,” Makoto said, a small smile spreading across her face as she thought about seeing him open his eyes - his _eye_ again. 

Sae nodded and stood up, excusing herself from the table and heading towards the front door, slipping her shoes on. Makoto in pursuit. 

“Well, thank you for stopping by, Sae. It was really nice to catch up with you.” Makoto said with a nod of her head. 

Sae grinned as she opened the door and stepped into the hallway. “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.” 

“Huh?” 

Her older sister pulled her into a quick hug and released her, her hands grabbing onto Makoto’s shoulders. “I want to be there when I see my future brother-in-law wake up.” 

Makoto was dumbfounded, her mouth left wide as she stared at her sister, flabbergasted.

“Thank you for dinner, Makoot,” Sae said with a smile and a nod of farewell, turning around and walking towards the elevator. 

Makoto shut the door and cleaned her dining room, washing the dishes and cleaning herself off before bed that night. As she laid in bed, Sae’s words continued to flow through her mind. 

_‘“I want to be there when I see my future brother-in-law wake up.”’_

To Makoto, it sounded like Sae was giving her blessing right then and there to Ren Amamiya, with that thought, followed more thoughts and vivid scenes of how their wedding would appear. How all the best men would look, how all of her friends would look in dresses, how her Sis would walk her down the aisle to Ren, who would stand tall and proud in a simple tuxedo, it was like a fantasy to her. She rolled on her side and grinned, letting those good thoughts run rampant through her mind.

She mumbled one final sentence before she succumbed to sleep.

“ _We_ will be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo! This was by far the longest chapter of this whole series, about 17 pages! And I'm damn proud of how it came out.
> 
> I really feel like I was able to capture a lot of internal struggle happening with Makoto, but also allow for some light-heartedness at certain points, and even some good quality sisterly-love moments. I feel like this chapter has to be one of my best works I've written, and I'm so excited to jump right back into that lovely SHUMAKO \\(-3-)/ 
> 
> Thank you all for reading and I wish you all a happy day, night, or whenever you're reading this. Have a good one and take it easy. Love you all <3


	9. A Hound's Dreamscape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren finds himself reliving his memories, all because of his own personified self-resentment. 
> 
> Until he finally wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In hopes to help everyone understand something (since I couldn't fit it in in any way), The "booming voice" is what I envision as Ren's self-doubt, self-resentment, and self-pity (rather lack of it) all built into one singular persona. I hope this sorta helps clear what the hell this random voice is.
> 
> And with that! I do hope you all enjoy this chapter <3

**_WARNING: This chapter includes graphic violence and very sensitive subjects relating to violence and death._ **

_‘Where the hell am I?’_

_‘Why does this odd feeling feel so familiar?’_

Ren’s eyes opened as he shot awake as he sat up, wearing nothing but his pair of pants. He looked down at his bare feet and towards the rest of his body, noticing a lack of scars that he could have sworn were there. He huffed out a sigh as he began to take a look at the rest of the room around him, or rather, the lack of a room around him. 

He stood up on nothing, his body feeling weightless in the endless abyss he was now standing in. He looked around and spun in a circle, attempting to find something, anything to help him comprehend what was happening. 

**But it was only darkness.**

He rubbed his face with both of his hands, solely out of frustration as he let out an annoyed “Gahh!” as he threw his hands to his sides. However, his yell was only followed by an eery silence. It was so quiet that Ren could swear his thoughts were audible in the ‘room.’

Then, it hit him, a sudden realization. 

He put his hand back up to the left side of his face, his fingers trailing over his closed eye to feel no scar. He hesitated for a second and huffed out a shocked laugh. He blinked a few times, raising his hand to double check to make sure that he wasn’t fully dreaming. “I-It’s back!?” He cried out. A swell of emotions smashed into him, his legs beginning to quake underneath his body weight. He fell to his knees, catching himself with his elbows against the mysterious black ground. 

Tears dripped down his cheeks and down onto the ground in front of him, disappearing as soon as they touched the surface. “It is back!” He screamed out, followed by more sobbing in pure joy. 

There, he cried for ten minutes, each whimper, sniff, and sob only to be responded to by a dead silence. 

Finally, he was able to stand up, letting out a few coy laughs in disbelief. However, his shock was immediately heightened when he heard a voice boom and echo throughout the void. 

_**“Welcome, Hound.”** _

_**“I’m sure you may have questions and I shall provide you with an answer to one. You are currently in your own mind, a world, where it’s foundation are your memories, and it’s structure are your emotions.”** _

Ren froze, looking around him to try and find the source of the voice. 

_**“Where you stand, is the beginning. Dig. Dig deeper, Hound!”** _

All of a sudden, the voice began to distort, it grew deeper, louder, and began to boom within the room, accompanied by demonic overtones. 

_**“Feel, watch, and remember how you’ve become corrupt. How monstrous you truly have become.”** _

Ren gulped as he heard a large metallic slam occur behind him. He turned, noticing a metallic staircase leading into the depths of blackness. Out of the hatch, radiated a bright white light, dust beginning to blow out from the mysterious opening, spilling out into the room and fading off into nothing. 

Ren sighed and walked down the stairs, being blinded by a white light until his feet felt gravel beneath them. His eyes adjusted and he found himself in the middle of a small town composed of buildings, composed of either brick or clay. There was a loud creak behind him and he turned to watch the stairs pull up towards the hatch, shutting him off from the void that he just came from. Then, in the distance, he heard screaming, along with two men and a little boy down the street.

Ren quickly ran over to join them, seeing a familiar looking teenager who was holding a pistol towards the two other persons, he turned his head and quickly assessed the rest of the situation. 

He noticed that the teenage boy was pointing the gun towards an older aged man, and behind said man was a much younger boy, who couldn’t have been a day over fourteen, holding an AK-47 to the man’s back. He could then hear their voices.

_“Joker… I need you to fire when I say…”_

Ren’s eyes widened as his head snapped back to the boy, noticing the unkempt hair peeking out from underneath the helmet. “That’s me?” He said aloud to himself. However, it was clear no one was aware of his presence. “Does that mean…” He asked himself, turning back to face the man and the boy… “Oh no. Not this. God, no, not this.” He muttered to himself.

Joker was standing, his pistol trained on the man, however, he was shaking. His lip quivered as he huffed out a trembling breath. 

_“I don’t think I can do it!”_

_“Shut the fuck up and listen to me, Joker! Fire in three, two, one!”_

The man finished his countdown, diving out of the way.

Ren turned and watched Joker hesitate, his finger refusing to pull the trigger on the young boy who now had his sights trained on Joker. 

_**BANG!** _

Joker cried out in pain as he pulled the trigger, the bullet from the pistol finding it’s way directly into the boy’s chest. However, Ren, (who was watching) also wailed out a painful scream as blood exploded from his gut. He fell to his knee, clutching onto the wound as blood began to seep out. 

Joker tossed the pistol aside and ran, catching the young child in his arms to prevent him from falling, the boy’s frail hand releasing the rifle. 

_“Hey buddy, look at me!”_

Joker said frantically, taking the kid’s hand in his own. The boy reaching out towards Ren with his other hand, blood beginning to soak his shirt. 

_“Just keep looking at me buddy, squeeze my hand as tight as possible!”_

Joker and Ren both saw the boy beginning to fade, his eyes glazing over as he lost focus and began to stare into the sky. The guilt, self-hatred, and sorrow that Joker felt, began to flow into Ren once more. 

_“Go towards the light, little guy! That’s it…”_

The boy finally reached up one more time with his free hand before it fell back down to his body, the boy’s hand that clasped tightly onto Joker’s also losing its strength and falling, leaving the Joker sitting there in sheer silence, staring in terror at the boy’s twisted face. 

_“Joker, you’re bleeding.”_

_“You made me kill a kid, Alex! A child!”_

_“He was going to kill you if you didn’t shoot.”_

_“That doesn’t make it any better! I just killed a little boy who had a mother, a father, I took him away from them!”_

_“You’re wounded, Joker! Now quit crying! We have to move, damnit!”_

Once more, Ren heard a loud metallic bang behind him. He turned and again, another staircase appeared. 

_**“Continue further, Hound.”** _

Suddenly, the pain from Ren’s side disappeared, as did the blood that seeped out of him. He took a deep breath and removed his hand from his stomach, noticing a small scar where the bullet landed. 

_‘I see what’s happening here.’_

As Ren journeyed further down the stairs, he came across many more situations as he watched scenes unfold before him, the twisted ruler of this bizarre world deciding that it was only worth to show Ren the moments where he was wounded, be it shot, stabbed, or even mentally scarred. Every. Single. Time Ren felt a bullet strike the Joker, he felt it himself as well, only two-folds worse than the original pain. He continued down the stairs, going down six flights of stairs until he came across another specific memory, one he had tried to bury and tried to forget.

Ren was able to put together a somewhat comprehensible timeline in his own mind and he found himself two years since the very first memory was played to him, where he received his first scar. 

He finished adding the mental note of his timeframe and examined the surroundings once more, he was inside a building, upstairs in what appeared to be a bedroom. Ren took a look outside the window and saw only a few buildings until all of it faded into blackness, which he had assumed was because he simply forgot what the village looked like. Ren heard voices and turned around, finding himself staring at Joker and Al as he had done seven times prior. 

_“C ‘mon Joker, let’s move,”_ Al said

_“Hold on… I thought I heard someone.”_

Ren nibbled on his lip as he watched himself turn and begin to poke around, using the barrel of his rifle to move a portière aside, only to be attacked by a woman with a knife. Joker was able to free a hand from his rifle, tossing it aside to catch her wrist, beginning to twist her wrist to turn the blade onto her self. 

Alex immediately drew his gun, beginning to yell simple orders out in Pashto

_“وسلې وخورئ!” (“Drop the weapon!”)_

The woman shot Alex a concerned look, fear flashing in her eyes as she returned her stare back to Joker, who had fully turned the blade on her. She yelped and released the blade without any warning. 

Joker, who was already applying the majority of his strength and weight into pushing the knife away from him, stumbled forward due to the sudden lack of resistance, the blade plunging into the woman’s chest, a shriek escaping her. 

Ren looked at the the scenario unfold, watching the girl fall to her knees as she clutched onto the handle of the knife. And what made Ren the most scared of all wasn’t that he was nearly killed during that time, or that he murdered a woman who had surrendered, it was that he lacked any empathy for the said woman. He knew how the rest of the scene would play out and how it had practically snapped himself out of being the emotionless killer. 

He watched Alex run over to the woman, beginning to try and help her with the wound, pulling his backpack off and setting it beside him, pulling out bandages as he turned to the woman attempting to remove the blade and quickly bandage the wound, regardless of how fatal it was. Meanwhile, Ren stood up, brushing himself off, walking over and picking up his rifle, wiping the dust off of it with his glove. 

_“We’ve got to move.”_

Alex turned to face Joker, still holding his hands over the woman’s chest to apply pressure to the bleeding. 

_“She can still make it, I will not leave behind someone who can is innocent, damnit!”_

_“She’s going to die.”_

Joker uttered the words with such disregard and without an ounce of emotion in his voice. 

_“I knew you were growing more immune, but this, Ren? This is out of fucking control, go to the evac, if you leave her behind, just know I refuse to work with a bloody monster.”_

Alex had said the words with his voice trembling in anger as he turned to face the woman, going back to working on the bleeding, he rested her on her back, keeping a hand to her chest. 

_“ته به ښه وي “ (“You will be okay!”)_

Alex’s voice was soft as he used his free and bloodied hand to grab onto the radio that was on the shoulder piece of his vest, tilting his head to talk into it. 

 

_“We’ve got a wounded innocent in need of medical assistance immediately! Joker and I are en route!”_

Ren sat and stared, taking a seat on the small bed that was pushed against the wall, staring at the Joker as he stood there in silence, watching the scenario play out. Ren began to feel his chest tighten, despair beginning to fill his thoughts. He took a deep breath and noticed the Joker begin to sweat, his expressionless face become distressed. 

_“Let me carry her.”_

Al shook his head as he leaned down, holding her arm up and hooking his neck underneath the bend in her elbow, he then used his other arm and slipped it under both of her knees. 

_“No, you’ve done more than enough.”_

Ren began to feel even more dread fill his body, he took a deep breath and heard once again another loud metal slam. He cocked his head towards the sound and stood up from the seat, taking a look down at his bare body to notice the many scars that had begun to build upon his body. He huffed out a long exhale as the wave of dread began to dissipate and approached the staircase, walking down and into one final scene. 

Ren blinked a few times as his eyes suddenly adjusted to the dark room and he gulped when his eyes finally began to pick up the lack of light within the room. He saw Joker sitting in a chair, bloody and battered with his hands tied behind. “No… No… No! No! **_No!_** ” He screamed in fear as he pressed his back to the wall, his hand immediately covering the left side of his face.

He watched the man enter the room and put a large serrated blade over the fire, beginning to speak to Joker in a calm and gentle tone, telling Joker about how he had gotten the large scar over his left eye. 

_“...In fact, it was very similar to this very scenario! Except I was in a prison far off in Siberia and not in the scorching hot desert known as Afghan.”_

Tears began to fall out of both of Ren’s eyes as he watched himself, his hand pressing harder against the left side of his face, trying to protect his eye that was soon to be gouged out. He continued to scream “No!” out, beginning a chant of cries in desperation as he watched the man approach Joker. 

Ren let out a final “No!” Which had crescendoed into a loud scream in agony as his eye began to blister and hiss, blood beginning to pour down his cheek. Ren screeched in agony as he fell to his knees, his entire body trembling as he cried tears of salt on one side, and a disgusting mixture of blood and his melting eyeball on the other side. He then felt the blade begin to rise towards his eyelid until it sudden sliced upwards, his entire left side of his face being covered in a bloody mess. He wailed out in pain and fell forward his body jerking and convulsing in pain.

“Make it stop!” He screamed, “Make it stop! **Make it stop!** ” He pleaded. 

After five minutes of screaming, the blood finally began to dissipate, the pain finally disappearing, along with Ren’s eyesight in his left eye. He raised a hand and began to sob as he lied motionless, the scene before him fading off.

He was returned to the abyss, where the booming voice returned. 

**_“You’re most welcome for giving you a reminder to who you are, Hound. It appears your sedative is wearing off and our time is up.”_ **

Light began to fill the room as Ren began to fall asleep, tears still flowing freely out of his eye. 

**_“Farewell, Hound.”_ **

Ren’s eye opened, he shot up into a sitting position with a loud scream. He groaned in agonizing pain as he pressed his hand against his ribcage, his breathing was frantic and rapid, he hadn’t even been able to comprehend his surroundings until he heard a familiar voice.

“Ren, lie back down.” A gentle voice of a woman spoke softly, her hand pushing him back onto his back. 

Ren blinked a few times and turned to look to his left, noticing Makoto was sitting there with his hand in her own two. He looked around the rest of the room, noticing a crowd of figures whose concerned faces cracked into smiles as they greeted him.

“Hey, man!” The blonde man greeted with a large grin, giving him a thumbs up.

_‘Ryuji is here..?’_

He turned and saw a girl with chin-length, fluffy, autumn-colored hair bow towards him. 

_‘So is Haru..?’_

He continued his panning, taking note of the tall and skinny blue-haired man give him a curt nod of the head. 

_‘And Yusuke..?’_

Beside the tall man was a girl with two large pigtails, colored a platinum blonde, giving him a friendly wave. “Hi, Ren!” 

_‘Even Ann..?’_

And beside her, was a purple-eyed woman with long blonde hair who held her hands tightly clasped in front of her “Hello!”

_‘Chihaya..?’_

Next to her stood a taller man with broad shoulders, wearing a military cap with shooting headphones wrapped around the brim. “Yo…” 

_‘Iwai, too..?’_

He watched a shorter woman step out from behind Iwai, wearing a lab coat, with a short and messy bob cut. “Looks like my not-so-little guinea pig is awake!”

_‘Doctor Takemi!?’_

He paused and looked around. _‘This isn’t even her office…’_ However, his thoughts were interrupted as his eye was caught by his old teacher stepping forward, giving him a large frown.

“You never even passed your third-year!” She huffed out, crossing her arms. “But it is good to see you’re healthy.” 

_‘Why the hell is Kawakami-sensei here as well? What is happening!?’_

“Looks like the boy lives on!” He heard a vibrant voice call out with glee. He turned his head and noticed a woman with a camera strap wrapped around her neck, the large and bulky camera hanging in front of her chest.

_‘Even the reporter lady? I don’t ever recall talking to her much…’_

He turned and saw a younger man pointing a finger gun at him, a vibrant red hat on top of his head, which was slightly crooked. “Bang! The King wins again.” He said with a large grin.

_‘That little dork is still the same as always.’_

He looked behind the little boy and noticed a woman with long black hair, a serious look on her face as she gave him a bow of her head. “It is relieving to see you are safe.” 

_‘Ah, she taught me Shogi! Hifumi Togo! Damn… I miss that game.’_

Ren’s own thoughts began to clutter as he began to fully comprehend what was happening. How everyone was there and why he felt so frail and weak. He remembered his battle with Aaron, how badly he was injured and how his body had practically been broken. A tear beginning to threaten an escape from his eye. However, he quickly blinked it away.

“I’m so glad you’re still safe, Ren! I had wondered where you were off to!” Ren turned his head and looked and saw the boy with the spikey blue-tinted black hair, standing in the back, giving a wave above his head.

_‘Mishima…’_

An older and more stump man greeted him, giving him a bow. “Nice to see you again, Ren Amamiya.” 

_‘Ah! Yoshida!’_

Ren attempted to respond but was quickly cut off by another greeting, an older man with a chin strap beard that had begun to gray, alongside his spikey black hair. “Disappear off the face of the Earth and return looking like this, huh? You always surprise me.” 

_‘Sojiro…’_ Ren’s heart ached, looking at the old man’s grin. It had been forever since he had enjoyed himself in Leblanc, he was planning on visiting until Aaron foiled his plans. Ren then noticed the man hand his hand on the woman who was standing in front of him’s shoulder. She had long, orange dyed hair. He felt her cling tightly onto his right hand, her eyes glossy. “Hey…” She said simply.

 _‘Futaba…’_ His pseudo little sister who he had abandoned. 

He saw a taller woman, dressed up in an all black suit with matching pants stand just beside the bed, her crimson eyes looking down at Ren with a hint of softness. “Ren Amamiya, welcome back.” She said with a subtle nod. 

Ren’s breathing began to grow ragged as he turned, his head snapping from left to right as he looked at the group of people who encircled him around his bed. He turned and looked left, having to turn further so he could lay his eye upon her. 

Never has her brown bob cut and French braided headband looked so gorgeous, nor has her stunning red eyes either. His lips parted as he stared at her in shock, he took a deep breath and blinked. “M-Makoto.” He muttered, his voice frail and weak. It even hurt his chest to talk, but just to say her name brought him a happiness nothing ever could. While he was able to fight off tears before, he couldn’t any longer. His head fell, his chin pressing against his collar bone as he began to sob uncontrollably. 

Makoto stared at him, it had been three weeks since she had seen the greyness of his iris, while it was a boring color on paper, it seemed to glow for him. As she saw his head fall and she heard his sobs, her heart broke. She lifted one of her hands from his arm and placed it gently against his cheek, rubbing her thumb in circular motions over the lower tip of his scar. 

The room went silent as they watched the man finally break down, crying out in hysterics. 

“T-T-Thank you a-all so-so much.” He stammered, his lower lip quivering as he struggled to speak in between his broken cries. “T-Thank you…” He mumbled, “Thank you.” He repeated, beginning to repeat the two words as he continued to cry uncontrollably. He removed his hands from both Futaba and from Makoto, covering his face with his own two, pressing Makoto’s hand against the left side of his face as well. 

He sniffled and gulped audibly as he looked back up to face all his previous friends and acquaintances. 

“Thank you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> Personally, I feel REAALLYY good about this chapter. I was super proud of myself about the whole dreamscape world that I was able to build, all thanks to the heavy inspiration given to me by Berserks "Casca's Dreamscape" arc. 
> 
> I also am waiting to give everyone the satisfaction of our favorite couple finally kissing, because I am cruel and want to make everyone (including myself) wait as long as possible until we can finally enjoy that lovely SHUMAKO. 
> 
> Again, thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a lovely day, night, morning, evening, whenever you're reading this! 
> 
> Peace~ <3


	10. Have I Ever Told You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Makoto share a night in the hospital room, two weeks after he first opened his eye.

It had already been two weeks since Ren woke up. Each and every day, Makoto would visit him during the evening and keep him good company. Most of the time, they simply held hands and enjoyed the blissful silence. Other times, Ren would scoot aside — sore as his body was, the following was always worth the pain. She would always climb up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, her hand resting over Ren’s heart, feeling the quick and rapid thumps. 

Of course, his rapid heartbeat concerned her beyond belief. She quickly sat up and turned to him, giving him a worry-filled look. “Ren..? Are you okay?” 

Ren blinked a few times as he regained himself after getting lost in thought. “Yeah. Why do you ask?” 

Makoto’s face went red in embarrassment as she realized how crazy she must’ve been acting. “Y-Your heartbeat was just really, uhm, fast.” She mumbled, turning her head aside bashfully.

Ren’s eye widened slightly as he looked away, trying to hide the red tint that began to coat his cheeks. “I-I see!” He attempted to act normal, however, his heart started to pound in his chest.

She quickly picked up on his sudden change of demeanor, turning her head to stare at him with a curious stare. “What’s wrong?” 

Ren turned back to face her, giving her a sight that she never thought she would see in her life...

He was blushing like a madman. The infamous and suave Ren Amamiya was redder than a tomato! The cold and detached mercenary was actually flustered for once. Somehow, she had made him so, but she had absolutely no clue when. She couldn’t stop a large smile from spreading across her face at the sight, Ren returning a coy and bashful grin back at her. 

“Nothing is wrong.” He admitted, finally. “I just… feel happy.” 

Her smile grew wider as she lied back down beside him, planting the side of her head on his shoulder, looking at him. “Happy, hmm?” 

Ren sighed out whatever tension was building up within him and he nodded. “Yes.”

Makoto hummed and raised her hand up, planting her palm on his core. “Why is that?” She asked innocently, however, she wasn’t very new to the position he was in. He was flustered and she knew because she had been the same way countless times when they had first met, she just needed to know how she made him so flustered! 

Ren groaned out. “You’re really curious, aren’t you?” He asked, turning his head to look down at her on his shoulder, his eye-catching hers. 

Makoto grinned and sat up once more, reaching out with a hand, booping his nose with a pointer finger. “In my defense, I find that to be one of my better personality traits!” 

Ren’s nose scrunched up as it was poked, the mercenary giving her a playful and over exaggerated pout. However, as he looked at her, his joking pout turned into a stare of wide amazement. The light of the moon crept through the windows and shone upon her. She was wearing a black sweater that showed most of her slender frame, along with a pair of dark navy blue leggings, and in the dimly lit room, Ren imagined her back in her metaverse attire. Well, of course, it was less revealing and flashy, but the colors matched. 

Makoto noticed he had been taking an especially long time to answer and that he had been staring at her for some time. “Uhm… Ren?” 

Ren blinked a few times. “Oh, right uhm, sorry.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked aside.

Makoto giggled softly to herself as she shook her head. She put her hand on his, which was lying on the thin mattress. “What were you thinking about?”

“I wasn’t thinking. I was admiring.” He said with a slight shrug.

Her eyes widened, thankfully her back was to the window, which was the only light source, so Ren couldn’t see her face had turned hot and began to grow a dark red. “Admiring m-me?”

Ren nodded, turning his head back to face her.

Makoto let the thought sink in. Ren Amamiya, the boy she had the biggest crush on during her third year at Shujin was now _admiring_ her for her beauty. Even though he disappeared, even though he lost an eye, even though his body had been scarred, bruised, and battered; everything still felt the same between them as it did back then. She was still the easily flustered girl she once was and he was the same charming, yet shy boy. And she loved it.

“Makoto.” He finally said.

She squeaked at the sudden sound of his voice, getting so lost in thought that she had completely forgotten he was right there. “Y-Yes?” 

“Do you…” He paused. “Do you think I’m weird for having, y’ know, one eye?” 

Makoto stopped and thought for a moment, giving him a soft, yet sweet look. “Of course not, I think it suits you nicely, actually.” She said, beginning to lean closer towards his face, her eyes focusing on his. Her voice fell to a hushed whisper as she spoke. “Scar or no scar. I will still love you all the same, Ren Amamiya.” 

Ren’s eye glossed over as he stared at Makoto, whose face now hovered mere centimeters from his own. “I… I love you, too.” He finally said, pushing forward to finally close the distance between them, his lips pressing against her’s. It felt like heaven compared to what Ren had to endure during his comatose. 

Makoto was surprised at first, but the tenderness and warmth of his mouth instantly made her melt into the kiss. She shut her eyes and returned the long and drawn out kiss, enjoying the feeling of his soft, slightly chapped lips. 

As the kiss broke, Makoto heard Ren audibly gasp for oxygen. “C-Can we do that, uhm, again?” He asked, looking at her with a pleading eye.

Makoto nodded with a grin and closed her eyes, wetting her lips before she leaned back in and locked lips with his. While the last kiss was a drawn-out single smooch, this kiss was filled with smaller and shorter breaks in between them, only so they could catch their breaths. Makoto adjusted herself so she now sat on both of her knees beside him, freeing her hands to rest on the sides of his face, eagerly pulling him into her kiss. 

Ren became fully enveloped in her soft lips, completely losing himself to his desires. He planted his hands on her sides, slowly sliding them up her slender and muscular body, finally cupping her cheeks in both of his hands and just as eagerly returning the kiss.

As the two finally broke from the kiss, they gave each other a shy glance before Makoto began to giggle, Ren’s own chuckles following shortly after. 

As Makoto’s giggles subsided, her face straightened and she looked at Ren. “Why did you choose to fight?”

Ren raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “How do you mean?” 

“Why did you move to America, only to fight more?” 

Ren huffed out a deep sigh. “It’s all I know.” 

Makoto’s eyes widened, both in confusion and surprise. “W-What do you mean? You’re smart, you’re friendly, you’re kind-“ 

“I’m weapon smart, tactic smart, smart at reading opponents. I’m friendly because I don’t want more enemies than I can handle. I’m kind because I know that meanness and kindness both come back around. I live and breath to fight, it feels like.” He mumbled. “I have no other dream, no other purpose in life, at least it feels that way.” 

Makoto looked away, thinking about how Ren was always the brawler type. She knew during Kamoshida’s reign of Shujin, he wouldn’t let Kamoshida within ten feet of her. Of course, she never realized until she got older, but as she began to think about it, Makoto realized that back then, Ren would always capture the attention of Kamoshida and lead him away before he could even speak to Makoto. She never knew why, until he confessed his crimes. Part of her did wonder, what would have happened if Kamoshida did get his grimy hands on her? She had tried to avoid that thought and instead focused on how Ren would act. He probably would’ve beaten Kamoshida half-to-death.

“You’ve always been like that.” She said sadly, turning to face him. 

Ren nodded, “Yeah. I guess I have.” 

The two shared a long and drawn out silence before Makoto asked another question. 

“Are you ever afraid?” 

Ren looked at her oddly. “What do you mean?” 

“Afraid of, y’ know, things. I mean, I believe that from your past experiences would’ve made you immune to fear.” She explained, resting her hand on his own that rested on his chest.

“My past experiences have taught me nothing but how it feels to take a human’s life.” He muttered, turning to face her. “And to be afraid of everything,”

She nodded, shuffling slightly to adjust her position against him. “I see…” 

“Whenever a plate drops or whenever glass breaks, I have a panic attack. Whenever someone randomly screams or yells, I have a panic attack. And during lightning storms, I have a panic attack.” Ren sighed.

“You’re not alone on the fear of lightning.” She mumbled, nuzzling her head against his shoulder. 

“Mind telling me what’s made you afraid of lightning? For me, it’s because the thunder and the flash remind me of gunfire.” 

“It was… a stormy night when my father was killed.” She said solemnly. 

Ren fell quiet. 

“I-I was young, just about eight years old. There were some scary men at the door and my father told me we were playing hide and seek, so I ran and hid. It was such a terrible storm and it was dark outside. Then, I heard yelling coming from the room just beside the one I was hiding in, there were a lot of crashes and bangs. I heard the front door open, so I stood up and looked outside the window to the front yard and I saw him being dragged off…” She mumbled quietly. “My father always told me… to be wary of corrupted cops. He was a commissioner who was cracking down on gang violence, but those men were some of the crooked police officers he had always warned me about. I saw them hoist him into the backseat of the car, I was so afraid when I saw them put a gun to his head and then there was a loud bang that matched the lighting… the window turned red and…” She trailed off, her voice trembling by the time she had finished her story. Her whole body was shaking, quaking uncontrollably.

Ren felt her distress and realized that it would have been best for him to not say anything and instead hold her closer to him. He shut his eyes and tightened his grip, hugging her closer to him. “I’m… so sorry.” He finally huffed out after a few moments of silence. 

Makoto took a deep breath and exhaled out a long sigh. “It’s… Okay.” She mumbled, burying her face into Ren’s neck.

“Your father would be proud of you if he were still here,” Ren said softly.

All of Makoto’s movements and shaking stopped, she lifted her head and looked at him. “You really think so?”

“I know so.” He assured, gently squeezing her arm with his hand, the both of them falling silent.

Their shared and comfortable silence was interrupted by Ren.

“Did I ever tell you what Alex was like before he died?” 

Makoto shook her head. “No, you haven’t.”

“Well. He was an oddball. Whenever I was with him, he was always in a good mood. He usually told me it was because he and his wife were having a child until the story changed to his wife had a child, then it turned into how fast his babe was growing. It was actually quite touching. However, I could tell that our time in the middle-east had begun to take a toll on him. He left when his daughter was two. While he never talked about his daughter when we were there, I could tell he was thinking about her. He carried a family photo in his wallet, had her name engraved in the side of his pistol, man, he was a great father.” 

“How do you know?” She asked.

“I spent a few days with them and every time I saw him, he was playing with her. I guess war makes you value your time with loved ones a helluva lot more.” 

Makoto hummed and nodded, “I suppose it does. Because, you may never know that when you say goodbye, it may be the last time ever.” 

Ren nodded as well. “Yeah.”

“Was it hard leaving behind everyone in America?” She asked, looking up at him. 

Ren shook his head. “I had no one except Alex.” 

Makoto fell silent, as did Ren.

The silence lingered on until there was a knock on the door, the doctor stepping in shortly afterward. “Ma’am. May I speak to you?” 

Makoto’s head perked up and she cocked an eyebrow, she looked at Ren, who returned the same confused stare back towards her. She returned her eyes to the doctor and nodded, climbing out of the bed. 

Makoto followed the doctor out of the room, shutting the door behind her. “Why did you need to speak to me, Doctor?” 

The man looked at the room to the door and back at her. “We have underestimated the severity of Mister Amamiya's Cerebral Hypoxia.”

Makoto was puzzled, she hadn’t ever heard of this condition. However, that also raised alarms within her. “I-I’m sorry, but can you inform me on what that is?!” 

“His brain went far longer without oxygen than we were aware of.” The man admitted.

“What do you mean!?” Her voice grew louder, more distressed.

“Ma’am. While we underestimated it, the side-effects aren’t anything dangerous, I can assure you.” 

“What are they?!” She asked, every alarm blaring in her head as her voice wavered between volumes now. 

“Temporary memory loss, poor or total lack of judgment, inattentiveness, and there may be slight problems in moving specific limbs.” 

Makoto’s heart dropped. _‘Has he not been through enough?!’_ She cursed in her head.

“Has he shown any recent symptoms?” 

“Only a few times…” She sighed out.

“What were they?” The doctor asked, clicking a pen as he lifted the clipboard up.

“He’s been having blanks when he was telling me stories of his travels to America. I didn’t think much of it, but I see now. His right hand is also awfully clumsy. Sometimes, a cup of water will just slip right through his grasp.” 

The doctor nodded, clicking the pen and tucking it back into his pocket. “Thank you. Please let us know immediately if he begins to repeat himself.” 

She nodded and turned around, opening the door and joining Ren with a gloomy expression, which Ren had picked up immediately.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked, propping himself up into a seated position.

Makoto looked at him for a second, an unreadable look on her face. “It’s nothing.” 

Ren drew his lips back as if he was going to speak, but refrained. 

Makoto joined beside him, sitting down and lying down, draping her arm over his waist as she laid her head on his shoulder. 

“Hey.” He said, gently shaking her shoulder to gain her attention.

She hummed, signaling him that she was paying attention. 

“Did I ever tell you what Alex was like before he died?”

Makoto’s heart practically shattered. She didn’t know how to respond, how to react, she didn’t know if she should tell him. 

_‘What if he gets angry?’_

_‘No… What if he’s heartbroken by it?’_

_‘Will it hurt his healing process?’_

Makoto took a deep breath and shook her head, her rotations being hindered due to her placement against his shoulder. “No… You haven’t.” 

“Well. He was an oddball. Whenever I was with him, he was always in a good mood. He usually told me it was because he and his wife were having a child until the story changed to his wife had a child, then it turned into how fast his babe was growing. It was actually quite touching. However, I could tell that our time in the middle-east had begun to take a toll on him. He left when his daughter was two. While he never talked about his daughter when we were there, I could tell he was thinking about her. He carried a family photo in his wallet, had her name engraved in the side of his pistol, man, he was a great father.”

Makoto clenched her eyes tightly, taking a long and deep breath, letting out a simple and sad “Yeah… I bet he was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya all! This is a much more short chapter compared to the rest, (about half the original length) but I just sorta wanted to use this as a starting spot for the future chapters n stuff, like the start to a new arc. Have I thought ahead of what the hell this new arc is going to be? Nope! But I do know it's going to involve a lot more of Ren's mental illnesses and battles, such as his newly founded memory loss.
> 
> So what do you all think, if you were in Makoto's situation, would you tell Ren he's going to suffer memory loss? Or would you leave him be? 
> 
> Also, thank you so much for reading, love you all lots <3


	11. And you didn't tell me!?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron escapes the custody of the Shujin police force and Ren is now challenged with having to battle two foes. His poor memory and his ex-brother in arms.

Another week had passed. It would still be one more week until Ren could finally leave the hospital. Of course, Makoto still visited Ren every single day and always rested beside him, they would exchange kisses, hugs, laughs, but there was always something that crippled Makoto’s mood.

_"Did I ever tell you what Alex was like before he died?”_

“Twelve times…” She mumbled to herself as she walked up to the stairs towards the police department.

“Officer Niijima!” 

Makoto looked up at the blonde officer who was standing beside the door, leaning against the concrete wall. “Hello, Ryuji.” She huffed out before she noticed the two other officers beside him. A man and a woman.

The woman had a tall and slender body with a black pony-tail. Shiho Suzui. She was wearing the typical black standard uniform for officers, which must have meant she was going on patrol that day, Makoto had noted.

The man was shorter and stouter than Ryuji, his build being much more stocky in comparison. He had short black hair which was barely peeking out beneath the officer’s cap he always wore. He wore an all-black outfit, with a heavy vest covering his torso. He was a part of the special units team, heavy armored, and typically was only called for during dire situations. Kai Sugimoto. 

Makoto gave the two a quick nod. “Sugimoto, Suzui.” 

Kai looked rather unpleased, as did Shiho for that matter. Even Ryuji looked a bit upset. 

Makoto quickly picked up on the trio of gloomy faces and cocked an eyebrow. “What is with the frowns?” 

The three exchanged a few looks of nervousness as cruisers sped down the street, their sirens blaring as they sped through the streets of Shibuya. Makoto turned back to face the group after the sirens retreated into the distance. 

“Well… uhm.” Ryuji finally spoke up, rubbing his neck. “The transport bus number three-five-two crashed due to inmates seizing control, rather, one inmate seizing control.” 

Makoto’s grimaced as she thought of the number. _‘That was Aaron Buchmeier’s bus…’_

“Was it Aaron Buchmeier?” She finally asked.

Ryuji nodded.

“Damnit!” She cursed, clenching her fist tightly as she huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Damnit, damnit, damnit!” She began to mutter under her breath. 

Shiho finally intervened. “I’m sure Ren can help us!“

“No!” Makoto growled. “He can’t…” 

Ryuji raised an eyebrow. “Hey, just because he didn’t let you come last time doesn’t mean he won’t let you-“ 

“That’s not it!” She cried out, her bottom lip beginning to quiver, her straight and proper posture beginning to break as her shoulders hunched. 

“Then, what’s wrong with the guy? Isn’t he being released from medical care in a week?” Kai asked, breaking into a coughing fit shortly afterward. 

“He can’t remember!” She finally cried out, bringing her clenched fist to her chest. “The same story every day!” 

Bewilderment spread across the three officer’s faces. 

“W-What do you mean he can’t remember? The doctors said there would be no damage!?” Ryuji asked, putting a hand on Makoto’s shoulder.

She quickly shrugged off his hand, pulling herself away. “It was worse than they thought! He can’t remember anything and he can hardly hold a cup of water in his hand!” 

Sugimoto crossed his arms and began to tap his foot. “I’m sure he can still help us plan with taking down, Aaron. He doesn’t have to be apart of the fighting.” The man explained, once more, coughing shortly afterward. 

Ryuji nodded. “Yeah! He can just help us out with figuring out a way to capture him!” 

“But didn’t Makoto just say he’s been having memory issues? He might be a liability. Besides, he’s still pretty fresh out of a coma, this stress could hurt him.” Shiho countered.

Makoto shook her head. “No, I don’t think it would hurt him. He’s been dying to do something… He hates having to be limited to the hospital.” 

Shiho sighed and nodded. “Just a random question… Has he begun to take physical therapy, yet?”

Makoto nodded. “Yeah… He actually just started this past week.” 

Shiho hummed. “He could be some sort of lookout. He could be a passenger with one of our pilots in a helo.” She explained, her head turning from side to side as she laid out her plan. “That way, he avoids gunfire, but also has the comfort of seeing Aaron get arrested.” 

Makoto nodded once more, her small breakdown beginning to fade away as her much more logical mind began to take over. “That sounds like the better alternative…” She said, looking back up to meet the three excited faces of the other officers. 

Ryuji took the lead, a large smirk on his face. “Shall we meet up in Ren’s room a week from today?” 

Makoto nodded. “That works for me. You two?” 

Shiho nodded. 

Kai nodded. 

“O-Oh… And guys, please don’t tell him about his condition. I-I want to be the one to tell him but I want the time to be right.”

“All right. Let’s get back to work.” Makoto finally ordered out, turning towards the glass entrance before being stopped by Ryuji. 

“Just like old times, eh?” He said with a huge smile on his face.

“Like old times.” She agreed, walking into the department and immediately banking towards her office while Ryuji continued straight, heading towards the firing range where he, unfortunately, had to train more recruits about pistols. 

_‘“Did I ever tell you what Alex was like before he died?”’_

His words had started to stick into Makoto’s brain. She had heard that story twelve times, she has lied to him eleven of those times. Part of her felt like she should finally tell him, but now? It was much too late for that. He would be seriously upset and that’s what worried Makoto so much, she didn’t want to lose his trust that she had worked to gain. 

_‘What happens if he doesn’t agree to Shiho’s plan?’_ Makoto thought. _‘Then I’ll have no choice but to tell him.’_

**== Three Days Later ==**

There was a knock at Ren’s door. He was walking back and forth, pacing the room while he ran his hands through his hair. “Damnit! How did he escape so damn fast?! You’ve got to be kidding me!” He clenched his teeth, thinking about his past with Aaron. While he was fuzzy on most memories, he remembered one clearly. It was the day of his escape from that hell-hole of a cave. 

**==**

There was a large explosion that shook the entire cavern, the iron bars he was held behind beginning to rattle and shake. He heard loud screams and gunfire echo throughout the cave system. Joker had immediately noted that the first shots that had wrung out were from a Heckler & Koch G36.

 _‘That’s German weaponry…’_ Joker’s hazy thoughts began to clear up, which was immediately heightened by the returning Kalashnikov firing.

As far as Joker knew it, these Taliban soldiers hadn’t gotten their hands on such well-made weaponry. No. He knew for a _fact_ that they had no such weaponry. They only used Russian equipment, along with other scrap weapons they could pick up from U.S. personnel.

Joker blinked a few times, turning his head as he began to try and find some sort of weak spot within that small iron caged box he was trapped in, forced to sit on his ass all day and night. He quickly found the keyhole and sighed, he didn’t have anything to pick the lock, so now, he prayed. He prayed to Igor, to Yaldabaoth, to anything he could possibly pray to. He prayed that it was who he thought it was with that German rifle. 

Ren blinked as he saw a couple of figures begin to approach him. _‘I’m saved!’_

He was wrong.

He quickly noticed the men were carrying their poorly built AK-47 replicas, which were both aimed at him. He sulked and shook his head. “I spoke too fucking soon.” He muttered under his breath, taking one last breath before he was to be executed.

**_BANG! BANG!_ **

Joker flinched but opened his eyes to see the two men fall to the ground, their weapons falling against the floor. 

He looked up and saw a man looting the corpses, digging through the pockets of both men, finally standing up with a key. He had shaggy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a black mask that covered his face from the bridge of the nose down.

While he wore a mask, the eyes and the stature were unmistakable.

“Aaron?” Joker called out.

“Yeah, it’s me, Joker.” The man replied, jamming the keys into the keyhole, turning it and swinging the small door open. 

He crawled out of it and stood up, his legs wobbling for a few seconds. “How long were we gone?” He finally asked, looking up at his ally.

“You and Alex have been M.I.A for over three months.” Aaron said, looking Joker up and down. 

He was dirty. He was still wearing his black combat pants, however, they were torn at the ankles and the knees, dirt, and blood covering them as well. He was shirtless, his chest covered in dried mud, dust, and stained in blood. Joker had a bandage wrapped around his head horizontally, then more bandage that wrapped around diagonally, covering his eye where a large red circle was placed. 

Joker finally huffed out a quiet response. “Alex was killed in action.” With that, he could see behind the mask that Aaron was gritting his teeth. 

“Fine.” He finally muttered, reaching down, grabbing one of the Kalashnikovs and tossing it over to Joker. “We’re leaving.” 

“Not before I make that motherfucker pay,” Joker growled. 

Aaron could see the bloodlust in Joker’s eyes, he knew that whenever he got that look, Joker couldn’t be opposed or stopped. “Got it. We’ll clear out the way of your escape. Make it quick.” 

Joker nodded, watching Aaron turn and begin to head the direction he must have come from. He turned and headed the opposite direction, delving deeper into the cave. 

He had to deal with a few loose stragglers of men who were too panicked to join the front lines and preferred to ‘‘defend the captain.’’ They were too easy.

Finally, he saw a large wooden door leading into what looked like a planning room, left wide open, and inside, the man who took both Alex and Joker’s eye away from him. He sulked and tossed the weapon aside, sprinting straight for the entrance. 

He burst through the door, tackling the man to the ground, both of them screaming. Joker grabbed the man’s left arm, taking it in both of his hands as he snapped his wrist, dropping it as he reached for the other wrist, doing the same. He panted heavily as he then began to beat the now defenseless man half to death. He took a deep breath and screamed once more, grabbing the sides of the man’s head with both of his hands, jamming his thumb into his last good eye. The commander screamed in agony as his legs flailed and kicked around aimlessly. 

Joker screamed in return as he now wrapped his hands around the man’s throat, clenching as tight as his grip could possibly let him before he finally jerked it to the side, satisfying his bloodlust with the loud 

**_CRAAAACK!_ **

He took a deep breath and huffed out a long sigh in relief as he stood up, grabbing the pistol from the man’s hip and unloading the entire magazine into the commander’s head. Only to fulfill his urges one last time. He tossed the pistol aside and turned around, sprinting back to the gunfire that slowly but surely began to die down.

Once he had finally reached the entrance, it looked like a massacre. He immediately found Aaron, who was standing beside four other men, who were decorated in standard Marine uniforms. In the distance, Joker could faintly hear the sound of rotary blades beginning to creep closer. 

He was saved. But he failed to save Alex.

 _‘I’m sorry, Al.’_

**==**

Ren huffed out a long sigh and shook his head, slamming his fist against his bed as he began to sit back down, attempted to fully clench his right hand, only being able to close his fingers a quarter of the way to a full fist before pain shot through his arm. 

There were a few subtle knocks on the door. 

“Come in!” He called out aggravatedly, still frustrated that he was to be holed up in that room for four more days. 

The door cracked open and from around the curtain, Ren could see a woman with a tall black ponytail enter the room, dressed in a blue police uniform. Ren’s face sulked at the fact he was being visited by an officer, however, it quickly faded away once he realized it was actually just Shiho Suzui. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked, his face now shifting into a rather emotionless state. 

“I just wanted to check up on you… See how you’re doing.” She said, taking one of the rolling stools and sitting in it. “Thought you would want to compare experiences or if you have any questions since I’ve been in your shoes before.”

A smile crept up on Ren’s lips as he nodded. “Yeah… I suppose you’re the only person I can relate to about this.” 

Shiho nodded. “So, do you have any questions for me? If so, I hope I can answer them for you.”

Ren thought for a moment, before returning his stare to her. “Did you see… memories when you were asleep?”

Shiho gave him a puzzled look before she got an excited look on her face. “Ah, I did actually! I remembered all the times Ann and I hung out, all the moments I spent with my family, it was really comforting, actually!”

Ren’s shoulders drooped and he sighed. “... Right.” He mumbled. 

Shiho tilted her head as concern washed over her face. “What’s wrong? Did you have memories, too?”

Ren nodded.

“Were they not happy?”

Ren nodded again. “I suppose I don’t really have many happy memories.” 

“Not even with your parents? Or your mother? None at all?”

“My mom left my father and she tried to bring me with her but she lost the court case since she didn’t have anywhere for me to stay. My dad was a heavy drinker and abused me up until I was moved to Shibuya because of my probation.” He huffed out. “I never saw her again. It’s been around seventeen years.” 

Shiho frowned and looked aside, guilt now washing over her face, replacing the earlier excitement she had shown from their connection. “I’m… Sorry.”

Ren waved off the apology. “Bah! Don’t worry about it! I have another question.” He paused, looking at her. “My head feels really fuzzy and I sometimes can’t think straight, is that normal?” 

Shiho inhaled sharply as she joined in on Makoto’s lie. “No. That’s normal, I was the same way.” She said with a firm nod. 

“Right… Thank you.” Ren said, returning a nod to her. 

Shiho folded her hands in her lap, tapping her fingers impatiently. 

“Hey, Shiho?”

She looked up with a hum. “Yes?”

“I have a question.” He said before huffing out a sigh. “Did you see memories when you were asleep?” 

Shiho bit her lip and looked back down at her lap. “I-I did. Yeah.” 

“What were they like?” 

“They were… Good, I guess.” 

Ren nodded. “Right.” 

Suddenly, Shiho’s phone began to ring. She apologized quickly and picked it up, holding it to her ear. “Hello? Yes… All right. I’ll be on my way.” She hung up, looking at Ren. “I’m sorry, I must be going.” 

Ren waved. “Okay. See you later.” 

Shiho smiled and nodded, standing up as she turned and walked to the door, hesitating before she opened it. She left the room and shut the door with a sad sigh, leaving the hospital at once.

Ren sat and clasped his hands together, looking down in between his feet until he heard a voice whisper in his ear.

_“Kill him…”_

He shot up to his feet and spun around, quickly focusing his gaze as the room went dark, his suit glowing a bright yellow, as did a sink, and a bag of spare clothes that Makoto had brought him. However, as his third eye continued to linger, he couldn’t see the trace of anyone, only the footsteps of Shiho, who had already left. He groaned in pain as his sight flashed back to normal. He held onto his head as he stumbled back onto the bed. He buried his head in the pillow in a feeble attempt to negate the migraine that the ability had brought him, then he heard a voice speak again, this time it was muffled.

_“Kill Aaron Buchmeier, Ren.”_

Ren finally realized that it wasn’t a person in the room talking, but instead, it was his mouth that was forming the words. His eyes widened, he never thought those thoughts for even a second, nor did he ever attempt to say them out loud. 

Ren sighed and shook his head, rolling over and onto his back in attempts to catch some shut-eye. 

**== Four Days Later ==**

Makoto took a deep breath, turning to face Kai, Ryuji, and Shiho before opening the door and walking into the room, as they turned the curtain, they could see Ren walking back and forth in front of the window, muttering quietly to himself. Makoto attempted to hear what he was saying, but it was nothing but gibberish.

“Ren?” She finally interrupted, noticing he was now fully dressed in the jet black suit that he had been wearing the night of his fight with Aaron. 

Ren turned to face her, noticing the rest of the group behind her. “Is this about Aaron?”

Makoto nodded, stepping aside so Kai and Shiho could explain their plan to him. 

“Our plan is to have three of us, Ryuji, Kai and I, infiltrate the main compound he is believed to be hiding in. Makoto will be the shot-caller and secure a perimeter around the entire building so he doesn’t slip away.” Shiho explained.

Ren quickly interrupted. “What do I do?” 

“You will be the lookout from the helicopter.” 

“No. I will _not._ ” He immediately retorted, snickering at the foolish suggestion.

Kai sighed. “Yes, you _will._ ” 

“No. _I will not!_ ” Ren retorted, his voice beginning to grow louder. 

Makoto interjected, her voice cold and stern. “You will not be fighting, Ren.” 

Ren hesitated and turned to Makoto, puzzled as he gestured with his hands _‘What? Why!?’_ “What do you mean, this is me we’re talking about here… I’m the only one who's able to take him on.” 

“I said you will _not_ fight, Ren.” Makoto hissed. 

“Makoto, you’re talking to _me_. Do you know that?” He asked, gesturing to himself, still completely bewildered. 

“Because you’re still injured, Ren!”

“I am not!” He growled back in response. “I’m fine!” 

Makoto took a deep inhale. “No. I shouldn’t have let it go to this extent.” 

Ren’s angered turned into confusion once more. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean that you can’t fight, Ren!”

“Of course I can fight, it’s what I _do_ , Makoto!” 

Makoto took a deep breath and shook her head. “No. You’re disabled, you can’t be of any help to us on the ground!” Her voice was now beginning to rise, matching Ren’s in volume now.

“I’m _not_ disabled!” He snapped back, clenching his left fist as tight as it could possibly stand, everyone could now see the rage that was building up within Ren as he began to subtly shake in anger.

“Yes. You. Are!” She snapped, her voice rising into a yell. “You’re more injured than I lead you on to believe, Ren!” 

Ren tilted his head. “ _What…?_ ” He asked through clenched teeth.

“Your injury from Aaron caused Cerebral Hypoxia... When you were nearly strangled to death, your brain was completely depleted of oxygen for a long time.” She finally admitted.

“How long?!” He shouted, his voice starting to tremble in rage.

Makoto went silent, looking aside in guilt as all of her anger began to dissipate. 

“ **How long. Makoto!?** ” 

“Three minutes…” She finally admitted. 

Ren began to shake as he looked away from Makoto and back to the group of three officers that now stood in front of him. “Did you all know!?” 

None of them uttered a word, instead, they avoided his fiery stare and looked aside, embarrassed and guilty. 

“ _Did_ you!?” He screamed again. 

The three nodded, still avoiding his stare.

Ren laughed and shook his head, his mouth wide in disbelief. “I was the only person who didn’t know I had fucking brain damage…” He growled before walking towards the group, shoving them out of his way as he made for the door.

“Ren!” Makoto said, running over to the door, grabbing onto his arm, attempting to stop him. 

Ren ripped his arm away from her, opening the door and walking through it, slamming it shut as hard as he possibly could. He was beginning to pant as he walked through the hallways and began stomped out of the hospital. 

**== Three Hours Later ==**

He knew exactly where Aaron was hiding. It was the same steel warehouse their last fight took place. However, Aaron also was there first, so Ren would no longer have the upper hand. 

Ren took a seat on the curb and held some gauze he was able to buy from a shop in his left hand. He looked down at his right hand and took a deep breath, slowly beginning to curl his fingers into a tightly knitted fist, ignoring the pain it had brought him. He kept squeezing until his nails began to dig into his palm and he made a fist, pain shooting up all the way into his arm as he held his fist as tight as possible. He clenched his teeth and began wrapping the gauze around his whole fist, keeping it locked into the same position. He then wrapped some tape around his fist, keeping it held tightly. He stood up, tossing the rest of the gauze aside, along with the tape and tried his hardest to ignore the pain as he began to march through the dark streets toward the steel warehouse. 

Once he finally arrived at the front of the building, he took a deep breath, pressing his good hand to his right bicep where his pistol was holstered. He heard a few footsteps behind him and quickly spun around, only to notice a woman disappear into an alley across the street. He simply ignored her presence and turned back around, entering the building. 

Once he had entered, he could easily tell it was a trap. However, he also knew it was the only way. He walked into the open room which was pitch black except for a loose hanging ceiling light that only lit up the middle of the room. He grimaced, looking around the room, drawing his pistol as he spun in circles, now standing in the light, surrounded by darkness. 

He considered using his third eye, however, his ability with having to compensate for his lost eye made his third eye practically a hindrance. It hurt his head, made him susceptible to attacks from behind, he was alone with his one good eye. He spun, keeping his movements quick, his finger on the trigger, ready to fire at a moments notice.

He heard a door open and shut from the same way he entered, he quickly turned to face that direction, his gun pointed to where he had thought the doorway was. However, he quickly spun again, fearing that someone was creeping up on him.

He bit his lip, looking around the room, hearing a loud shuffle behind him, he turned and fired a round towards the figure in the shadows, hearing the sound of a bullet piercing flesh and…

_A woman scream?_

Ren’s eyes widened after he heard the scream. 

_‘Makoto?!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOT This chapter felt super good to write and I just felt whatever felt like the opposite of writer's block while writing it. We're back into the action baby and I couldn't be happier! 
> 
> I also apologize for leaving you all on a cliff hanger like that, but I just had to do it to 'em. 
> 
> Thank you guys for reading! I hope I don't disappoint cause I do personally feel like Aaron might be a bit rushed and I've been trying to build some character to him so he isn't just like... "Aaahhhhh I'm the big bad guy ahhhhh!" But, hopefully, I can give him some redemption and make him not so robotic! 
> 
> Again ahhhhhhh, thank you!


	12. The Mad Hound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron Buchmeier discovers what truly happened to Alex Argo, thanks to Makoto Niijima.

He sprinted towards the loud shriek he heard running straight into the shadows, immediately going down to a knee, pulling Makoto up, allowing his knee to be used as a backrest for her. 

Makoto groaned in pain as she held onto her shoulder, blood slipping in between her fingers and pouring down her arm. “I-I’m sorry…” She mumbled quietly through clenched teeth.

“Now is not the time for an apology.” He muttered, hearing more shuffling across the room from behind him. He cursed under his breath, readjusting his position to hook his arms underneath Makoto’s shoulders, dragging her back into the dimly lit circle. “Keep pressure on the wound.” He ordered, standing back up and spinning around, keeping his pistol trained. 

Makoto nodded, raising her sleeve and biting into it, tearing the fabric. She raised the split in her clothing up to her elbow, biting into it once again to tear it off fully. She then used her torn sleeve as makeshift gauze, wrapping it around her shoulder as tight as possible, using the side of her head to hold it down as she moved her arm in awkward ways to help tie it. Once she finally finished, she rolled onto her stomach, watching Ren as he began to mumble to himself.

_“You felt it didn’t you?”_

“Shut up.” He growled to himself.

_“The satisfaction of finally getting payback for her lie?”_

“Shut up.” He muttered again.

_“Now, take it out on Aaron.”_

Ren had no response to that, instead, he smirked devilishly, keeping his spins quick, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

Makoto watched, confusion plaguing her mind. _‘Was he… talking to himself?’_ She crawled up to her knees, sitting on her heels as she also began to look around into the darkness, her eyes still needing to adjust. 

Ren growled in frustration, holstering his pistol as he turned around and went back down in his knee to check on Makoto. “Where’d it land?” 

“The shoulder.” She said, holding onto her shoulder, keeping light pressure on the wound, only in order to stop it from completely soaking the fabric that was wrapped around it. 

Ren sighed and nodded, looking down, his fluffy hair blocking all signs of his face, and once more, he began his muttering. 

_“You and I both know what we want…”_

“Why? Why do you speak?” He muttered to himself, his hand going to his head as he grabbed a handful of his hair. 

_“Because you were weak too weak minded to accept your faults.”_

Ren huffed out a sigh in frustration with himself, he clenched his teeth and stood back up, Makoto still watching him with wide eyes as he began to scream in rage.

“Where are you!?” He yelled into the darkness. “Aaron!” He yelled once more. 

Makoto listened for any sort of response, it was deathly quiet. 

“Aaron, where in the hell are you!?” He yelled once more, taking deep and quick breaths.

Makoto heard footsteps quickly approaching from behind her, she turned around to see a large formidable figure sprinted directly at him. “Ren!” She called out, warranting his attention, but it was too late.

The figure dipped his head, using his shoulder to ram directly into Ren’s stomach, his arms wrapping around his waist, lifting him up and slamming against the concrete with a powerful smash. 

Ren let out a painful cry as blood shot from his mouth and into the air, he began to gasp for air while Aaron adjusted his position, pinning the much him to the ground. He looked up to see Aaron raising a fist until he saw arms wrap around the man’s neck, tugging back against him. 

Aaron clawed at the arms around his throat as he stood up, backpedaling in attempts to shake off the woman who was now choking him out, giving Ren time to recover, time that Aaron couldn’t allow. 

Ren coughed and rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself back up to his feet as he took a deep breath, wiping away some blood that was trailing down his lips. He turned around to face Aaron and Makoto, watching as Aaron struggled to free his neck of her iron grip. 

Aaron let out a growl and quickly raised his elbow, twisting his torso and slamming his elbow into her stomach.

Makoto cried out, her grip around his neck loosening as she instinctively wanted to block her body from taking another hit, but she felt a pair of heavy hands grab on to the back of her head, her eyes widening as she realized what was coming. She felt the man she had climbed on hunch over, his arms tugging over his shoulder. Makoto yelped as she was flipped over the man’s back and slammed on to her own., her tailbone taking the brunt of the fall 

Aaron reached down, grabbing Makoto by her collar and raising her up, a powerful punch striking her cheek, sending her sprawling backward and back onto the ground. 

Ren watched the rapid change of direction that the fight was in, his eye narrowing as he could hear something sinister within his head begin to speak. 

**_‘Let loose… Let loose your rage, your bloodlust, your hatred, let loose as you did in that cave. Show no mercy.’_ **

Ren grimaced and took a deep breath, breaking into a sprint, dashing past Makoto and directly towards the towering man, who had lowered himself in case of a tackle, which was just what Ren wanted. As soon as Ren got in range, he leaped, raising his knee and grabbing onto the back of Aaron’s head, driving it directly into it, sending Aaron stumbling back into the darkness, Ren in short pursuit. 

Makoto immediately lost all sight of them, except for their two figures fighting amongst the shadows, but she could hear rough sounds of their fight, majority of the sounds escaping from Aaron as he let out loud grunts of pain with each blow he received, and once more, they stumbled back into the light, Aaron’s face and shirt covered in the thick red liquid that had been dripping from his nose, his cheeks, his forehead, his mouth, he was gushing blood. Makoto’s eyes widened at the man as she saw how relentless Ren was fighting. 

Ren sprinted back into the light, using his shoulder to slam into Aaron’s body, sending Aaron stumbling back. However, Ren continued his assault, he continued to push Aaron back, sending a flurry of punches, kicks, and knees, each blow finding its way into striking Aaron, and once more, they retreated into the darkness, the shapes of their figures choreographing their fight to Makoto. She could see Aaron throw weak and wide hook punches, which were always ducked under by Ren’s figure. She saw Aaron throw his leg out, his shin actually connecting with Ren’s shadow, except it was now stuck there in between Ren’s torso and his arm. She saw Ren’s figure raise its other arm and slam into Aaron’s knee, completely hyperextending his knee. Ren now held the flimsy leg and leaned back, bringing up his own leg and kicking straight into Aaron’s chest, sending him sprawling back onto the ground, screaming in pain. 

Ren reached down and grabbed Aaron, dragging him back into the light where he threw him across the floor. He mounted the man, raising a fist before stopping himself as he saw how defeated Aaron had looked, the man wasn’t even attempting to fight back anymore, instead, he looked scared. The man was panting, his eyes half shut to keep blood from covering his vision, he pitied him. He was in the same position before, he looked the same after he had lost his eye and was trapped in prison. He felt hopeless, he felt like he was a lost cause. 

Ren shook the pity out of his head and growled, letting the fist fly, striking Aaron across the face.

Makoto saw Ren’s hesitation and called out to him. “Ren!”

Ren looked up at Makoto, who was recovering from her blow, her breathing was frantic and scattered. It seemed as if her body didn’t even know how to cope with losing so much oxygen in a single second. 

Makoto gulped and continued her sporadic breathing. “He’s… Defeated! Don’t kill the man!” 

Ren looked back down at Aaron, who was staring at him with a challenging stare. 

“What are you…” Aaron scoffed, spitting blood to the side as he looked back up at Ren. “... Waiting for? Aren’t you going to finish me off like you finished off Alex?”

Ren took a deep breath and blinked a few times, a sudden realization coming to him. 

_‘Have I been using Alex just as an excuse to fight..?’_

However, his inner malice rebutted. 

**_‘No, Alex would’ve wanted you to fight.’_ **

Ren nodded, throwing another punch which slammed Aaron’s head back against the concrete, however, the man clung to consciousness. 

“Ren!” Makoto screamed once more. “This isn’t what Alex would have wanted you to become!” 

Ren took a deep breath and shuddered, looking down at Aaron, a man who submitted his defeat and awaited a cruel death by beating, it reminded him of the time he had stabbed the woman who surrendered her weapon, the one time Alex screamed and chastised Ren. _‘A monster’_ His breathing began to pick up, he looked down at Aaron and back at Makoto. 

**_‘What are you doing!? End it!’_ **

Ren looked back down at Aaron with a hateful glare, preparing to throw another punch until he heard sudden footsteps stomping towards him. He looked back up and saw Makoto running at him. His head recoiled back in confusion and shock until she threw herself against him, knocking him off of Aaron. She quickly adjusted her position so she was now sitting on his torso, grabbing both of his wrists and pinning them down to the concrete. 

“Is this what Alex would’ve wanted you to do!? Kill your brother’s in arms!? Lie to them all so you can fight more!? Please!” She yelled, her voice cracking and breaking as she was on the verge of tears. “Please, Ren!” Makoto cried out, her face hovering just above his. 

“Alex..?” He repeated, his voice dropping to a mere whisper, only for his thoughts to be interrupted as he saw Aaron sit up, immediately, he went on full guard and looked back up at Makoto. “Get off of me!” He growled, attempted to buck his hips and throw her off, but Makoto didn’t budge from her position.

“Listen to me, damn you!” She growled, keeping her hands locked tightly around Ren’s wrists as she turned to Aaron. “Both of you!”

Aaron looked back at her in confusion, as did Ren. He and Ren even exchanged their confused stares with each other, which quickly turned into a sulk as they made eye contact.

Makoto looked back at Aaron, “First off, Ren never killed Alex!” She said in a harsh tone, turning back to look down at Ren. “I can’t believe you confirmed his false suspicions just so you could get into another fight.” 

Ren opened his mouth to speak before quickly being interrupted by Aaron, who still held onto his knee, which was still flimsy. “What the hell do you mean he didn’t kill Alex? He told me he killed him when they were in captivity.” 

Makoto looked away from Aaron and shot Ren a fiery stare. “You didn’t even tell him the truth about how he died!?” She cried out. 

Ren growled and struggled against her grip once more, only to get pinned down once more. “It’s better for Alex to go out in a fight instead of him being executed like some sort of pest!”

Aaron watched with wide eyes, “Executed?” He repeated. 

Makoto nodded, turning back to face Aaron. “Alex was shot and killed just before Ren was captured” 

Aaron turned and looked at Ren, who was still struggling beneath her. “You lied about Alex’s death!? Why!?”

“Like I said…” Ren growled, cocking his head to face Aaron. “It’s better to die fighting a traitor than to die being executed!” 

Aaron blinked a few times. “So you led us on… To believe that you killed Alex. All to protect a dead man’s pride!? Are you fucking stupid, Joker!?” 

Ren drew his lips back and clenched his teeth. He was stupid. Dead men have no pride and Ren threw away all the honor he had when he fled America and his company in order to protect a dead man’s pride. 

Makoto sighed and looked back down at Ren. “And you were mad at me for holding a lie for two weeks. Yet you lied for almost two years.” 

Ren had no argument. He gave up his pointless struggles and rested his head back on the concrete, however, Aaron didn’t want to simply accept that. 

“I have a broken ass face and a fucking destroyed knee all because Alex didn’t die the way you wanted him to die?!” Aaron yelled, beginning to scoot himself towards Ren. 

Makoto released one hand from Ren’s wrist, reaching to the side and grabbing the pistol he dropped earlier, pointing it at Aaron. “No. No more fighting!” She screamed. “You two are the biggest idiots I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe _you!_ ” She said, turning back to Ren. “You just want to fight! That’s all you want to do! Why can’t you see that there are people who couldn’t stand losing you!” 

Ren gulped, looking aside bashfully. “I wanted to protect you-”

“How!? By… Sating your bloodlust!? By fighting recklessly and going into a coma for three weeks?! How are you protecting me!?” She yelled, keeping the gun trained on the silent Aaron, who sat still with a grumpy stare. 

Makoto shook her head, “I can’t believe you, Ren. There are more things in life than just fighting.”

“It’s the only thing for me!” 

“So I don’t exist, then?” She responded, looking at him with a rageful stare.

Ren looked aside and drew back his lips, he had no answer. 

Makoto sighed and freed Ren’s other arm, digging into her pocket and pulling out a phone, dialing Ryuji’s number.

“Get to the steel warehouse now, we need two ambulances.” 

Both Aaron and Ren were speechless, they shared an awkward stare, locking eyes with one another. 

“You both fought over Alex like two school girls fight over some boy. You endangered each other's lives. You two fought together, bled together, yet you harvest so much hatred for each other? Why?” She asked, setting the phone down beside her. 

Ren looked over at Aaron and back at her, shrugging. “We’re competitive, I guess.” 

That earned a snicker from Aaron. “I did it to avenge Alex.” 

Makoto furrowed her brows and looked down at Ren. “ _Competitive!?_ You go into a coma for three weeks, nearly die, nearly bludgeon a man to death, and then on top of that, shoot me in the arm because you were _competitive!?_ What am I going to tell the police who are going to arrest him, that you guys are friends now!?” She sighed in frustration, standing up and turning around, walking towards the exit. 

Both Aaron and Ren looked at each other then back at where she left, an awkward silence lingering in the air. 

Aaron looked over at Ren. “Sheesh.” 

Ren nodded and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah… I’m fucked.” 

Aaron sighed and huffed out a quick chuckle. “She’s scarier than you.” 

Ren nodded again. “Can you believe that she hid the fact that I had brain damage for two whole weeks from me?” 

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “Can you believe that you lied about Alex’s death for years and made me hunt your dumbass down?” 

Ren looked aside in guilt. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to accept the fact that I was helpless when he died, I suppose.” 

The brutish man scoffed and looked aside. “Do you think they’ll arrest me again?” 

“Did you have your trial, yet?” He asked, looking over at him.

He shook his head. “They wouldn’t do a trial without you being there to attend.” 

“Well, I’ll make sure they don’t send you because this is all my fault.” He said, standing up. He grabbed Makoto’s phone off the floor and tucked it into his pocket, walking to Aaron and offering a hand. 

Aaron looked at it for a second. “Thanks but… I still fucking hate you.” 

“Yeah, well cry about it. Unless you want those paramedics to haul your sasquatch-ass all the way out of the building, the least we could do is meet them out front.” He said, a chuckle following shortly afterward.

“Dick,” Aaron muttered grabbing Ren’s wrist, using him for support as he stood up, his arm hooking around Ren’s neck, leaning his weight on him as they hobbled out of the building, sitting there waiting as Makoto stood at the edge of the sidewalk, holding her shoulder. 

“Did you know you were talking to yourself in there?” He asked, turning his head to face Ren.

Ren nodded. 

“What that’s about?” 

Ren shook his head. “It’s weird… Words sort of just fall out of my mouth and my mind sort of blanks out for a second.” 

Aaron sighed and looked back as flashing lights greeted them, two ambulances backing up against the sidewalk, the back doors swinging open in both of them. Makoto greeted one of the paramedics and climbed into the back of one, pulling both doors shut. Meanwhile, the paramedics from the other vehicle approached both Aaron and Ren, two of them helping carry Aaron back to the car, pulling out a stretcher for him to lie on before picking him up and lifting him into the ambulance.

Both cars pulled off and shot off in the direction of the hospital.

Ren sighed and shook his head, raising his right hand in front of him, unwrapping the gauze and tape. He huffed as he could finally let his fingers stretch and breath, his entire arm cramping shortly afterward. He hissed in pain as he began to wiggle each individual finger, a sudden thought came to his mind.

_‘I wonder if I ever told Makoto about how Alex was like before he died…’_

Then, immediately afterward, he groaned in frustration with himself, unsure of whether he did or did not. He growled and kicked at the concrete, storming off to go find a bench to sleep on, since it was safe to assume Makoto wouldn’t be very happy with him when she found him. 

_“You know the dangers of leaving us all alone, don’t you Ren?”_

It was happening again, Ren blinked a few times from the short blackout. “Shut up.” He muttered to himself, walking down the empty street, crossing his arms over his chest as each of his hands clung onto the opposite arm’s bicep. “Shut up. Shut up.” He repeated, hoping that if he could continue to speak he wouldn’t be able to well… speak. 

Again, as Ren continued to wander the streets aimlessly now, all in hopes to keep him busy, his vision blacked out and he heard himself speak. 

_“Why do you fight me? Why do you fight yourself?”_

Ren’s voice grew louder as he clung tighter to his arms, “Shut up!” He yelled, looking up frantically. Luckily, the streets were completely empty, so at least he didn’t have to bear the embarrassment of being a mad man in the streets. He found a bench to sit on, as his head began to grow light and his vision began to dim.

_“How can I shut up when you and I have never felt so alive before!? Your fight with Aaron proved to me that you can still feel that same bloodlust you felt six years ago.”_

He snapped back into consciousness, burying his head into his arms, his hands pressing at his head in desperation to stop whatever madness was taking over his body. “Stop! Stop talking! Stop! Stop!” He begged, shaking his back and forth.

_“I can’t wait until your next moment of bloodlust… Who will be the victim? Aaron? Ryuji? Perhaps even Makoto! Just imagine your hands around her throat”_

Ren began to shake as he began to break into a bumbling mess of whimpers and cries. He kept his head buried in his arms, flopping onto his side as he curled up into a fetal position, slipping out of consciousness once more. Instead, this time was out of pure exhaustion, not the voice that constantly antagonized him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter cause I sorta just kept up with writing from last night (the cliff hanger got to me, too.) And this chapter was very strange to write because it has a sort of humorous tone to it, especially compared to the rest of the chapters. I was contemplating on Ren winning the fight, his inner malice getting the best of him and he finally rids himself of Aaron Buchmeier, but I also assumed that Makoto didn't want Ren to go any further than he already did! 
> 
> So, we sort of get mom-koto and she gives a stern lecture to the boys who were trying to kill each other and while they can't stand each other, they probably won't kill each other. It's a win for everyone! Except for poor Makoto who now has to go to the hospital cause she got shot by her boyfriend - The truest way of showing affection!


	13. Reconnecting the Hound's Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren's mental state is teetering until he finally is retold the grim news of his injuries. 
> 
> He collapses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick little note! (You'll know when you get there) But Ren's 'silent' conversation with the "eerie man" is in bold and italics, I don't want to confuzzle anyone and have them think Ren is talking to himself or if it's some inner voice, just what words the two's actions are portraying!

His eyes fluttered open to see vibrant orange, yellow, and pink painted in the sky, almost as if he was looking at one of Kitagawa’s paintings. 

He sat up, groaning as he rubbed his head, looking around to see people rushing down the sidewalk in both directions, he swung his legs off of the bench and sat down, hunching over as he cradled his head in his hands. His hand slipped into his pocket as he pulled out his phone, tapping it on, his eyes widening at the time. He had been sleeping for nearly fifteen hours, however, the time wasn’t the only thing that caught his attention.

**_Missed call from Mako(3)_ **   
**_Message from Mako(3)_ **   
**_Voice message from Mako(1)_ **

He sighed and clicked on the messages, reading through them.

_**Mako:** Ren, if you’re reading this, please stop by my place as soon as possible. I need to apologize to you._

Ren paused his reading and looked up from his phone, blinking a few times. _‘Why does she want to apologize to me?’_

_**Mako:** Ren?_

_**Mako:** Are you okay? Please respond so I know you’re okay!_

He sighed and rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand, blinking a few times before clicking on her voice message.

_“Ren, I wouldn’t blame you if you’re upset with me for lying, believe me, I know it was terrible of me to do that to you. I just didn’t want to make you feel like you were weak. So if you can, can you please come to the apartment so we can talk.”_

Ren blinked a few times and stood up, his joints cracking after finally being moved from their tight and wound up postures. 

_‘Where was her apartment again?’_

He sighed and joined the crowd of wandering pedestrians, searching for any sign that reminded him of what her apartment complex looked like. 

After nearly an hour of searching, he was beginning to break into a panic. He’d grunt and huff out sighs of frustration every time he was lost amidst the crowd of citizens heading home from their shifts, and once again, the sky darkened to its melancholic night, the wind howling through the streets of Shibuya, leaves blowing off of trees and flying down the street. It truly felt like a dreary night to Ren, his vision hazing over as he practically blacked out of consciousness. 

_“It’s just me and you again.”_ He heard.

And just as fast, he snapped back into reality and continued walking, his pace picking up to a jog as he continued to find himself becoming lost in the maze of skyscrapers. He growled in anger, running a hand through his hair.

_‘Damnit! Why can’t I remember!?’_

Part of him wanted to cry, parted him wanted to scream, part of him wanted to escape the massive maze, part of him wanted to flee Shibuya again, but there was one thing he couldn’t forget, no matter how fucked his brain had become.

It was the kiss he and Makoto shared in the hospital. 

He knew he couldn’t leave for a second time, Ren knew he couldn’t betray Makoto’s trust again. His jog broke into a sprint as he ran through the streets, his tie slipping out from under the coat and whipping across the side of his face, the wind continuing its eerie howl. Then, a sudden and ingenious plan had come to his mind, his sprint screeching to a stop, his tie flopping over his shoulder. He knew the plan would work, it was bound to work. It would help him finally find her damn apartment. His plan..?

He took out his phone and _called_ Makoto.

He immediately heard the line pick up and the sweet sound of her voice, while it was frantic, it was a relief to hear that she was okay. 

_“Ren?! Are you okay? Where are you?”_

Ren looked at his surroundings, “Uhhhh…. I’m lost.” 

_“Ren, what do you mean you’re lost?”_

“I mean I’m lost!” 

_“Okay, okay… What’s around you? Can you find any street signs? Any shops or landmarks?”_

Ren blinked a few times and continued to spin, trying to find something that would give his location to her. He then saw the entrance of the subway station. He walked over to it, putting the phone back up to his ear. 

“I’m at the south entrance to the subway station.” 

_“Okay! I’m on my way. Do not move!”_

Ren looked at his phone as she hung up. He hummed and stood above the descending stairwell, his arms crossed as he leaned against the metal railing, across the street, he noticed an ominous figure standing across the street from him, standing directly under the street light. It was a person. 

The man was tall, yet lanky. He had skinny, long arms, long and skinny legs with a slender body and an eerily hollowed face, his beady eyes staring directly at Ren. 

He shuffled uncomfortably, averting his gaze from the creepy man, who held the stare. Ren began to tap his foot impatiently, his fingers beginning to tap against his biceps, trying to avoid the unnerving stare from the man. However, Ren’s curiosity got the better of him, his eyes landing back on the slender man across the street.

Ren noticed the man’s paleness, his skin almost nearly white compared to his surroundings, and he was holding something in his hand. At the distance Ren stood at, it didn’t appear to be anything, but he could tell it had a sharp point and a long curved side. 

_‘Is that a knife?’_

Ren’s eye narrowed as he saw the man tilt his head, his eyes continuing their eerie stare. Slowly, the man took a single step closer to the side of the street, Ren did the same, taking a step towards the street that separated the two. 

The man took another step, his stare unwavering, his eyes were locked on to Ren. 

Ren could see it in the man’s eyes, only because he’s seen it so many times before; the man was preying on Ren, it seemed. However, Ren held his ground, keeping his arms crossed as he returned the man’s unsettling glare with one of his own. 

It felt as if the two were communicating, only through their stares. A silent conversation that only those two could hear.

**_You’re not scared?_ **

Ren held his stare

**_Nope._ **

The man tilted his head.

**_Not at all?_ **

Ren held his iron-willed stare, watching the man take a step onto the street, his pace still as slow as a snail. Ren nodded his head in a taunting fashion, practically saying to him

**_Try me._ **

However, the man stopped his movements and unlike his previous slow forward movements, he darted back to his sidewalk, returning to the light that he was posted beneath a few minutes prior. 

Ren looked at him in confusion, until his focus was averted to the sound of a speeding motorcycle which was growing louder by the moment. Ren saw Makoto turn the quarter, her black and blue visored-helmet covering her head completely. She pulled to a stop right beside Ren, attempting to take off her helmet before Ren quickly stopped her.

“Keep your helmet on. Hide your face.” He ordered coldly, looking past her to the man who still lingered beneath the light. 

Makoto looked at him, “Hide my face?” She asked, looking up at him from her bike. “Why?” 

Ren gestured with his head to the man that was standing across the street. “He’s been staring at me for the past six or so minutes.” 

Makoto turned her head and looked at the man, seeing how his gaze still hadn’t averted itself from Ren. She turned and looked back at Ren, “That can easily classify as a public disturbance or possibly even stalking, let me go talk to him.” She said, swinging her leg over the motorcycle, standing up and beginning to walk across the street, beginning to take off her helmet so she could speak clearer

“No!” Ren yelled, breaking into a sprint as he grabbed her arm, tugging her back. However, his sudden movements were showing his fear. “I mean… If you arrested people who looked at me funny, half of Shibuya would be in prison cells. Let’s just go.” 

Makoto turned to the man who held his hands behind his back, his body posture now hunched over. She reclipped the helmet back over her head and turned around. “Fine… Let’s go, Ren.” 

Ren sulked as his name was used, he turned to face the man like him and Makoto retreated to the motorcycle. _‘Now he knows my damn name.’_

Makoto placed herself back on the motorcycle, sliding forwards to leave a bit of room for Ren to climb on. 

Ren climbed behind her and sat, holding his stare towards the man, who’s head turned, watching them race down the street.

He huffed out a long sigh as they turned the corner. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Makoto’s waist, taking a deep breath as the air blew threw his hair, the windy day only making it worse.

Soon, Makoto turned into the underground parking garage, riding into the very back and pulling into the parking slot at the very end. She climbed off, taking her helmet and hanging it off of the handlebars.

Ren climbed off shortly afterward and in the midst of him readjusting his jacket, Makoto pressed herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I thought you left again…” She murmured.

Ren shook his head, returning the hug. “No.” He said simply, watching her pull back, guilt across her face. 

“Ren, I’m so sorry I never told you- I just didn’t want you to feel bad about yourself. It was selfish of me to keep it to myself and I can’t believe I did something like that.” She said pressing the top of her head against his chest, her hands grabbing at the lapels of his coat. 

“Makoto, relax… I seriously have no clue what you’re talking about.” He said, completely blindsided by her sudden apology. 

“O-Oh…” She muttered. _‘It happened again. He forgot. Maybe I can still keep it a secret…’_ But she quickly sighed bashfully. _‘No. I can’t.’_

Ren watched her look back up at him, her face looked like she was in pain, which reminded him that she was shot, and as he opened his mouth to ask if she was okay, he was quickly cut off.

“Ren… You’ve suffered serious injuries after your coma.” 

Ren raised an eyebrow, “How do you mean? I feel fine.” 

Makoto shook her head, biting on her lip. “No, Ren. Serious brain damage. You’re suffering terrible memory blanks and possibly even more. That’s why your right hand may not function as well as you may like it to.” 

Ren’s eye widened and he stared at her, completely awestricken. 

Makoto braced herself for whatever wrath she was about to suffer, maybe screaming, maybe the cold shoulder, maybe even physical violence. She knew how Ren got when he was _seriously_ upset. She watched him nearly beat a man to death just a day prior. 

But to Makoto’s surprise, she was pulled tightly into a hug, Ren’s hand ruffled in the tufts of hair on the back of her head, his other arm draped over her shoulder as he pressed her against his chest. She could hear the faintest sound of crying come from him as he pressed the side of his head against the top of her head. 

“R-Ren..?” She asked, slightly muffled due to the side of her face being squished against his chest.

He didn’t respond, instead, his hug on her tightened. She could feel his hands ball into fists, his body beginning to twitch in accordance to his sobbing. Makoto shut her eyes, beginning to blame herself for his current mood. Now, all she could do was try to comfort him.

Ren finally spoke after a few moments of silence. “I’m… I’m scared, Makoto.” 

Makoto sighed softly, her hand rubbing against his back. “What are you scared of?” 

“Forgetting you.” He said, his fists beginning to loosen up. 

Makoto went silent, even though she had been shot by this man just seventeen hours ago, she had never felt so loved before. Of course, her cheeks turned bright pink, but she kept her face hidden against Ren’s chest as they held out the hug. Not because she was embarrassed about being easily-flustered, but because she was flustered while Ren was in such a terrible mental state. She finally found words to respond with, ones that she prayed would bring him comfort. “You won’t.” Shortly after that, she could feel Ren nod. 

“I’m also scared of hurting you.” He said quietly, beginning to tremble again. “W-When I shot you… I couldn’t help b-but feel… feel.” He cut himself off, letting out a cry as he clung onto her once more.

“Ren… It’s okay.” She said quietly, “You don’t need to feel guilty about it, it was my fault I was there.” 

He shook his head. “It wasn’t guilt! It was… ecstasy!” He finally blurted out, pulling back from the hug as he pushed his back against the concrete wall, crossing his arms over his chest as if he was shielding himself from some sort of attack.

Makoto froze and looked at him in confusion, completely speechless. 

“I don’t know what’s happening! I hear myself speak… but it’s not me talking! I’m so scared… And I just don’t ever want to hurt you again.” His speech began to break into mumbling and hysterics as he curled up against the wall.

Makoto quickly remembered the conversation he was having with himself shortly after she had bandaged her wound. That must’ve been what she was talking about. “Ren… I-“ She had no words. She simply sat there and stared at the man, who was now mumbling to himself, tears still running down one half of his face, his whole body a shaking mess. 

Finally, she found words to speak. “I know you too well to know that it wasn’t _you_ feeling that joy.” 

Ren looked aside, avoiding her soft yet determined stare. “W-What?” 

“I mean that you’ve changed since your coma. Shiho talked to me about how you were seeing negative visions in your dreams. I bet it’s the resurfacing of the past that is causing this cataclysmic schism in your mind. Hence this bizarre split-personality thing that his happening to you.” She explained, cautiously stepping closer to him. She knew well enough to never try to approach an animal when it was terrified, but in this case, she had to approach the broken and terrified hound of Shibuya, because that hound was her lover, her best friend, that hound was Ren Amamiya; the cunning, charming, fearless (well used to be), and selfless man who had played a great ordeal in shaping her future. And she damn well was certain she wasn’t going to abandon him.

She placed her hand against his arm, her other hand rising and cupping Ren’s cheek, her thumb beginning to run small circles over the end of the scar beneath his eye. “Ren… _You_ wouldn’t ever hurt me. I know that because you love me and well, I love you equally as so.” 

Ren’s hysterics began to settle as he felt her hand against his face, the small circles bringing him slight comfort, along with the soothing sound of her voice and the simple sight of her. “R-Right…” 

Makoto pulled his head closer to hers, planting a kiss on his cheek, just against the base of his scar, feeling the rough patch of skin that had caused so much mental trauma to him press against her lips was surreal, the day they first reconnected, he was resilient to even _show_ her his scar, and now she was here, kissing it. He truly had come a long way and she was so proud of him for doing so.

Ren seemed to finally calm down, his breathing was still hasty, however, his body was no longer trembling and tears were no longer running down his cheek. He turned to her, a small and childish smile on his face. 

Makoto noticed as he looked at her, his face had some sort of melancholic happiness to it. Here was a man who had suffered some of the worst experiences a human could suffer, had traveled through hell, suffered countless injuries. Yet, he was still standing there, _smiling_ at her. She had seen him smile countless times, but just the way his soft and enchanting grey iris was red and puffy, accompanied by a tear-stained cheek showed her simply how happy she made this ‘emotionless dog.’ 

It was one of the greatest compliments she had ever received, even though it technically wasn’t meant as a compliment, just to be able to make someone as troubled as Ren happy was a compliment and an achievement in itself. 

Ren could see just how proud of her actions and decided to give a go at his classic teasing, which always seemed to cheer him up. “Looks like Miss Prez finally got an S+ in the ‘comforting her boyfriend’ class.” 

Makoto’s prideful face turned into a tomato-colored pout as she looked up at him, her cheeks puffing up slightly as she looked aside, mumbling out a quiet “Shush!” 

His smile widened slightly as he sighed, “And sorry for uh… keeping us trapped down here in this parking lot for so long.”

Makoto shook her head. “No matter where I am or what I am doing, I would drop everything in a heartbeat to help you.” 

Ren nodded. “As would I.” 

Makoto looked aside, holding the silence for a little while longer before she grabbed his hand and began to head for the elevator. “Come. Let’s get out of this lot. It’s musky and gross down here.” 

Ren nodded, letting out a hum in agreement as they quickly slipped in between the doors, rising to the floor of her respective apartment. 

They soon entered and Ren looked around, it was still clean as ever, then he also realized that he still had no clothes other than his suit. He huffed out a sigh as she shut the door behind him, beginning to unbutton his jacket, setting it on the coat rack. “How is your shoulder?” 

Makoto hummed and rolled her previously wounded shoulder, “It’s a bit sore, but nothing painful.” 

Ren hadn’t even noticed that Makoto had gotten changed when she came to save him from the maze that was Shibuya. He looked at her as she sauntered past the living room, towards the kitchen. He called out to her before she disappeared behind the wall, “Mind if I shower!?” 

Makoto peaked out of the doorway, nodding. “By all means, go ahead! I’ll make us some curry!” Then she retreated into the room, firing up the stove for their dinner. 

Ren grinned and walked past the living room, calling into the kitchen as he passed by. “And I’ll make the coffee!” 

He walked into the bathroom, noticing that there weren’t any towels. He looked around the room for a bit and simply assumed there would be at least one Makoto’s room. As he entered, he noticed (well firstly, the neatness of the room) but his panda plushie was now resting on her bed, appearing as if it had been hugged one too many times. His eyes scanned around the room, not seeing a single towel. 

He sighed and focused his attention, the room growing dark and a folded towel that was in the bottom drawer of her dresser. He soon unfocused from his ability, grabbing his head as it ached. He opened the drawer and pulled out the towel, turning around, beginning to head for the door before an oddly amusing idea came to his mind. He opened her closet and grabbed a buchimaru-kun shirt, which was on a hanger with a folded up pair of matching pajamas hanging over the shirt. 

He hummed as he returned to the bathroom, shutting the door and turning on the shower. As he finished his shower, he put his plan into full action. 

**Operation: Confuse and Fluster Makoto was a go.**

He slipped on his underwear and began to get to work. First, he slipped into her panda pajama pants, which were too short for his legs. They hovered in the prime spot for awkwardness, in between being a pair of pants and being a pair of shorts, the cuffs of the pajamas just at his shins. _‘Perfect.’_ He said, chuckling to himself as he began to get to work on the shirt. 

Getting into the shirt was much more difficult, as he didn’t want to tear any of the seams in what was most likely her favorite shirt. Finally, he had gotten it on to him and it was a very snug fit, the shirt clinging tightly to his body, the sleeves were way too short, and the hem of her shirt was just barely covering his belly button.

He stepped to the side and took a look in the mirror, noticing that - well damn! He was one attractive man. He had also noticed he had a rather fine butt, which made him feel rather weird, but he also heard from ann that girls love guys with good butts so… he had that going for him. Now it was step two of Operation: Confuse and Fluster Makoto was a go. 

Presentation.

He walked out of the bathroom, his step being slightly awkward from the tight fit, it also was very uncomfortable on his groin. This plan was beginning to backfire, but her reaction would be priceless. 

He stepped into the doorway, turning to face Makoto who had been stirring the large bowl of curry which must have been close to being finished, as evidenced by the smell. 

Makoto took the spoon out of the pot and gave it a testing lick, nodding as it was ready now. She turned and saw Ren in…. her _pajamas?_ Her eyes widened and her jaw fell, the spoon falling from her hand and clanging against the tile floor. She burst out in laughter, bringing a hand to her mouth as she took in the view of the very adorable mercenary. 

Ren wiggled his eyebrows, a playful grin on his face. “The size fits perfectly!” 

Makoto nodded as her laughter finally began to subside, “Y-Yes! Oh my god, this is… very unexpected.” She said, laughing slightly. 

Finally, she recovered and took a deep breath, approaching Ren, stepping onto her toes as she gave him a quick kiss, her hand wrapping around his waist and grabbing his butt playfully as she turned around, grabbing the pot, heading towards the dining room. “Better make some coffee before the curry gets cold!” 

Ren nodded, immediately getting to work on the coffee, finishing two cups and immediately heading to the dining room.

After the two enjoyed their meal, they decided to call it a night. Of course, Makoto needed her pajamas to sleep, so with some help from her, Ren was able to escape the tight fit. Which, his almost naked body earned him one of the goals of his operation; fluster. 

She slipped into the clothes, climbing into the bed, slipping underneath the covers, holding them up for Ren. 

Ren happily obliged, climbing into the bed, draping a hand over her waist while she rested her hand on his cheek. Suddenly, a thought came to him. “Hey.” He whispered, watching her eyes flutter open. “Have I ever told you about what Alex was like before he died?” 

Makoto thought for a moment, but she nodded shortly afterward. “Yes, you have.” 

“Oh. Apologies, I must’ve forgotten.” He murmured, looking aside in embarrassment. 

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.” She said with a warm smile, leaning forward to press a kiss to his forehead. 

Ren smiled and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose as he began to drift to sleep, one final thought coming to his mind before he slipped into slumber.

_‘Do not forget about me, Ren.’_

_'Shut up.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I finally wrote some pretty decent fluff (in my eyes at least! Thank you all for reading, it was a very nice chapter to write and I was able to get through it all in one single sitting! 
> 
> As for the little pajama conundrum, I decided to do a little switcharoo on the classic HC of Makoto always wearing Ren's PJs, since it's difficult to sleep in a sundress, school uniform, peacoat, etc. but now Ren is on the other side, where he has nothing else to wear! Nyeh-heh! 
> 
> Honestly, though, I'm super proud of this chapter and I personally feel like this was my best chapter of this entire series thus far. Going back and reading the first few chapters, I had NOOOO idea it would come to this! (Also, that "eerie" man is most likely going to be the shifting point of the genre as a whole, and somewhat the tone of the story! Soon we'll see about Ren's future profession! Hint: It'll be in the police force and it will also utilize his third eye, extensively.)
> 
> ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING I LOVE YOU ALL <3<3<3<3

**Author's Note:**

> New series time! (I am currently gonna take a short hiatus from Recovering Barista since it's hard to write fluff when you're stuck in angst-hell!) 
> 
> But anyways, I was very heavily influenced by music, which birthed the idea of Ren being a mercenary (otherwise known as a Dog of War) was because I've been listening to two songs on repeat: Dogs of War - Pink Floyd, and Dogs of War - Blues Saraceno.
> 
> Anyways, I hope I can get some pretty unique conversations and conflicts through these roles and, as always, some good quality Shumako moments. 
> 
> Thank y'all for reading <3


End file.
